Jedediah Smith State Park At Stout Grove Memorial Park Redwoods Trail

I captured this photograph within Stout Grove Memorial Park Trail, California.

Stout Grove is widely known as the world’s most scenic... more

by Michele Hancock Photography

Title

Jedediah Smith State Park At Stout Grove Memorial Park Redwoods Trail

Artist

Michele Hancock Photography

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

I captured this photograph within Stout Grove Memorial Park Trail, California.

Stout Grove is widely known as the world’s most scenic collection of Redwoods. As a moderately sized park, it doesn’t have the biggest redwood trees however it is known for its distinctive photogenic beauty nearly any time of day you choose to meander through its grove trails. I have hiked through this park morning, noon and nearly night at golden hour and have found it rich in reflection and silhouetted beauty. Each hour brings a new way of capturing textures, foliage color and the immense size of these intensely beautiful trees.

As a claim to fame, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) George Lucas’ epic favored many settings such as these utilizing the beauty of the Redwoods as Planet Endor. The productions, incidentally, used 100 Del Norte (this location's county) residents as extra Storm Troopers. Filming took place not only on private property but also in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park where this grove is located.

This beautiful grove of Redwoods is located on a small floodplain at the confluence of two rivers, the well-known Smith River Middle and South Forks, as well as Mill Creek and Cedar Creek. Stout Grove is an alluvial-flat grove presenting 300-foot trees. Many consider this grove the heart of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. This otherworldly, majestic 44-acre grove of old-growth redwoods is a popular summer destination. In all their majesty, the tall trees seemingly ascend through the clouds yet stand shadow to the largest Stout Tree with its distinctively rippled bark. The beauty of this grove with its natural contrast is due to the fact that the gigantic redwoods have no understory of tanoak or other small trees to obscure the views. Although the tall trees are densely packed, there is an ethereal and perfectly plush, lawn-like layer of ferns and redwood sorrel carpets all over the grounds on both sides of the meandering trails. This poetic greenery allows photography professionals and enthusiasts a gorgeous green foliage growing in the distinctive redwood mulch to provide a foreground and/or background like no other. The indigenous moss and ferns often surround fallen timber and grow with the bark of the giant redwoods reaching to the sky.

A minimal and conservationist approach to the development of the park has left the grove for the most part ever natural and unspoiled. There is a brief visitor’s center in the campground across the river, but it’s so well-hidden that you'll have a hard time finding it unless you grab a map or ask fellow hikers.

I am honored to have this photograph featured on the homepage of the following Fine Art Groups:

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Uploaded

January 13th, 2021