A Day at Trees of Mystery: Classic Northern California Roadside Attraction

Trees of Mystery: Highway 101 Redwoods, SkyTrail, and Paul Bunyan

Drive north on Highway 101 through Del Norte County, and you cannot miss them. A 49-foot-2-inch statue of Paul Bunyan and a 35-foot Babe the Blue Ox stand at the edge of the highway in Klamath, waving traffic into one of California’s longest-running roadside attractions. Trees of Mystery is part forest walk, part folklore stop, and part museum, all set in the heart of Redwood National and State Parks.

The property first opened to visitors in 1931 as Wonderland Redwood Park. After World War II, Ray and Marylee Thompson bought the site and relaunched it in 1946 as Trees of Mystery. The family still runs the place, and the mix has stayed the same: unusual coast redwoods, Sitka spruce, and Douglas fir; recorded trail stories; a gondola through the canopy; and a serious collection of Native American art and objects.

Paul Bunyan and Babe at the Highway 101 Entrance

You know you have arrived when Paul starts talking. The current Bunyan statue, built in 1961 after earlier versions failed in coastal rain, stands 49 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 30,000 pounds. Babe, added in 1950, is 35 feet at the horn tips and matches Paul in bulk. Both are visible from the road and work as parking-lot greeters.

Paul waves, calls out “Hello there,” tosses jokes and riddles toward kids, and comments on passing cars and clothing. The statues are kitsch, and they are also the reason generations of travelers have slammed on the brakes. Free parking sits right in front of them. Extra space and RV parking are across Highway 101 beside the cafe. Overnight RV parking is not allowed.

Kingdom of Trees and the Interpretive Forest Trail

Admission covers a self-guided walk of about eight-tenths of a mile on a graveled interpretive path. Informational signs and audio stops point out how these trees have twisted, fused, hollowed, and fallen without human help. The walk is not a wilderness scramble, but it does climb. Give yourself 90 minutes if you stop at every display.

The trail threads through a giant hollow redwood log and on to the “mystery” trees that gave the park its name. Coast redwoods here can approach 2,000 years in age and 300 feet in height. Sitka spruce and Douglas fir fill the understory. The recorded narration keeps the science light and the oddities front and center: trunks that split and rejoin, trees that grew around one another, and roots that look more like sculpture than botany.

Cathedral Tree and the Quiet Corners of the Forest

Farther along is Cathedral Tree, a tight semicircle of six redwoods rising from a single root system. The formation feels like a chapel without walls, which is why Easter services and weddings still take place there. It is one of the strongest photographs on the property and one of the few spots where the crowd often goes quiet.

A Wilderness Trail offers a calmer loop through older forest if you want fewer sculptures and more shade. The Kingdom of Trees section is dedicated to the coast redwood itself: how it grows, how it survives fire and flood, and why this stretch of the North Coast still holds some of the tallest living things on earth.

SkyTrail Gondola Ride Above the Redwoods

SkyTrail opened in 2001. Enclosed gondola cars climb through the forest to an observation deck near 750 feet in elevation. The ride takes about eight to ten minutes each way, with brief pauses so you can look straight into the trunks. At the top, the view opens east toward inland ridges and west toward the Pacific.

The line is a third of a mile. Cars are enclosed, pet-friendly, and wheelchair-accessible. If the uphill trail is too much, a shuttle runs to the SkyTrail station. You can ride more than once on the same ticket, which is worth doing when fog lifts, or late light hits the canopy. Heights bother some people; the cars are enclosed, but the drop through the trees is real.

Redwood Canopy Trail: Bridges in the Mid-Canopy

The Redwood Canopy Trail is the newest major addition, and the one most visitors talk about after they leave. Ten platforms sit 50 to 100 feet up in old-growth redwoods, linked by eight netted suspension bridges from 23 to 130 feet long. You walk at mid-canopy level, not on a boardwalk at ground height.

This is the only area that does not allow pets. It is also the feature to skip if you freeze on swaying bridges. Everyone else should budget extra time. The platforms give you a look at bark, burls, and the forest floor from a height most park trails never reach.

Trail of Tall Tales and Redwood Carvings

The last stretch of the walk turns from botany to folklore. The Trail of Tall Tales uses about 50 chainsaw carvings in redwood to tell Paul Bunyan stories: the ox, the logging camp, the oversized feats. Audio tracks play as you pass each figure. The carvings also show what redwood can do in a sculptor’s hands, which is part of the park’s older roadside identity.

End of the Trail Native American Museum

At the end of the trail sits the End of the Trail Museum, also called the Marylee Thompson Smith Collection. Admission to the museum is free. Trail tickets help keep it open. Marylee spent more than 40 years gathering clothing, baskets, pottery, weapons, tools, pipes, jewelry, instruments, dolls, photographs, and baby carriers.

The gallery is arranged in several rooms by region rather than by a single tribe: Pacific Northwest, California, the Great Basin, the Plains, and the Southwest. Local Yurok, Karuk, and Tolowa material is strongly represented, as you would expect this close to the Klamath River. Labels are detailed. Give this more than a pass-through. It is one of the country’s larger privately held collections of its kind, and the most substantial indoor stop on the property. The museum opens into a gift shop that still sells things you will not find at every highway stop: regional crafts, the usual Paul and Babe salt-and-pepper shakers, stuffed animals, homemade fudge, and ice cream.

Forest Cafe, Motel Trees, and How to Plan the Stop

Hungry visitors cross Highway 101 to the Forest Cafe, also called the Blue Ox Cafe in current park materials. Hours follow the tourist season. Motel Trees sits beside it: 23 rooms, a straightforward base if you want to sleep across from the statues and walk over in the morning. A short path near the north edge of the parking lot leads about half a mile to Hidden Beach for a tide-line break after the forest.

Trees of Mystery is at 15500 U.S. Highway 101, Klamath, California 95548, between Orick and Crescent City. The park sits 36 miles south of the Oregon line and about 360 miles north of San Francisco. From Grants Pass and Interstate 5, Highway 199 is about 126 miles. Phone numbers are 1-800-638-3389 and 707-482-2251.

Why Trees of Mystery Are Worth A Visit

Public redwood parks surround Klamath. You can see taller groves without buying a ticket. What Trees of Mystery still offers is a compact, guided version of the forest plus a mid-canopy walk, a gondola, and a museum you will not get on a random pull-off. It is unapologetically a roadside attraction: talking lumberjack, carved ox, fudge counter, and all. That is the point.

If you are running Highway 101 between the Oregon border and the rest of the Redwood Coast, stop. Talk back to Paul, walk the hollow log, ride the gondola twice if the fog breaks, and leave time for Cathedral Tree and the museum. Then get back on the highway with redwood bark still on your shoes and a clearer sense of why this stretch of California has pulled travelers off the road since 1931.

Trees of Mystery FAQ

How much does Trees of Mystery cost?
As of the park’s current published rates, general admission is $30 (ages 13–59), seniors 60+ pay $25, children 3–12 pay $15, and children 2 and under are free. The ticket is all-day and includes the trails, SkyTrail, Redwood Canopy Trail, and the End of the Trail Museum. Visit Trees of Mystery website for more information.

Is the museum free?
Yes. The End of the Trail Museum does not charge admission. Trail tickets support the collection.

Are dogs allowed?
Yes, on leash, on the walking trails and on SkyTrail. Dogs are not allowed on the Redwood Canopy Trail. Bring waste bags.

Is Trees of Mystery accessible?
The forest paths are steep and not fully wheelchair accessible. A shuttle runs to SkyTrail, and gondola cars can take a wheelchair.

How long will it take to visit?
Plan on at least two hours. A full day is better if you want the trails, the SkyTrail more than once, the Redwood Canopy Trail, and the museum.

Is parking free?
Yes. Cars park at the entrance by Paul and Babe. RVs use the lot across Highway 101 by the cafe. Day use only.

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