Drive the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway

If you have only one chance to see redwoods, then don't miss this! Any vehicle of any size can be on this road. Found in the southern third of the parks, the ten miles of the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway will likely be one of the most stunning drives, or rides of your life. Allow for at least 20-minutes without stopping to drive the length of this. Make sure you get off HWY 101 to see miles of big trees - you won't find too many redwoods anymore along HWY 101. To get onto the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, take either exit 765, or exit 753. Located in the heart of Prairie Creek State Park, the road gently takes you past thousands of acres of old-growth redwood forests. If you want to step out of your vehicle for a few minutes (or days) to explore, there are plenty of well-marked trails and pullouts for vehicles of all sizes along the parkway. The Prairie Creek Visitor Center is located towards the southern (lower) end of the parkway. With 95% of the world's redwood trees having been logged in the last century, old-growth redwood groves are now only found in smaller, isolated places. Except for Avenue of the Giants (a similar road 100-miles to our south), there is nowhere else in the world a driver of any vehicle can have this kind of experience. Can you image in the late 1800s before industrial logging - not having just ten miles of this kind of redwood experience - but two hundred miles? The parkway is named for a man who spent 40-years of his life preserving these kinds of forests. Newton Drury and was instrumental in the 20th century for securing hundreds of thousands of acres as parklands. A fitting symbol of the continuing partnership between the National Park Service, California State Parks, and Save the Redwoods League, Drury served as director of all three organizations during his career. Bike and Hike Day From autumn to spring (October to May) we close the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to motorised vehicles on the first Saturday of each month. This Bike and Hike Day is poplular with hikers, leashed-pets, strollers, and people with all sorts of wheels under their feet.