Skip to main content

Trees of Mystery; a US Route 101 Landmark

By

US Route 101 near the village of Klamath in Del Norte County has a notable roadside attraction in the form of Trees of Mystery. 

Trees of Mystery is a park noted for being a significant roadside attraction on US Route 101 ("US 101") in Northern California.  Trees of Mystery can be found approximately five miles north of the Klamath River and the Village of Klamath.

Part 1; history of the Trees of Mystery

Trees of Mystery largely is surrounded by the much more preservationist minded Redwood National Park and California State Parks.   Trees of Mystery offers a slightly different experience given it's trails are located on private land.  What eventually became Trees of Mystery opened in 1931 by Carl Bruno as a fishing camp known as "Wonderland Redwood Park."  Under Bruno's ownership the name Wonderland Redwood Park was changed to "Kingdom of Trees."  Bruno's business partner Carl Lewin which rebranded the park to "Trees of Mystery" in 1946.  

Trees of Mystery is easily identified from US 101 by the statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Ox which are located in the park parking lot.  

The original Paul Bunyan statue was constructed in 1946 but was destroyed by rains during the following winter.  The Babe the Ox statue was constructed in 1950 and the current Paul Bunyan was built in 1961.  Both statues are constructed from wooden roards, chicken wire, and stucco.  In what has to be the most 2020 thing ever both statues as of late are featuring face masks. 


Trees of Mystery has been expanding almost continuously upon opening in it's current form in 1946.  In 2001 a aerial tramway known as the "Sky Trail" was constructed from the Brotherhood Tree to the canopy atop Trees of Mystery.  As of June 2020 Trees of Mystery opened the Redwood Canopy Trail via a network of wooden netted suspension bridges. 


Part 2; the trails of Trees of Mystery

The primary trailhead at Trees of Mystery begins at the Visitor Center.  A guide sign indicates the distance to each of the major trails via the Kingdom of Trees Trail.  

The Elephant Tree can be found near the trailhead of the Kingdom of Trees Trailhead. 


The Upside Down Tree is two trees that have grown together.



The Octopus Tree features a hollow underneath it's trunk. 


Some of the Coastal Redwoods which serve as the primary attraction at Trees of Mystery. 


More Coastal Redwoods.


The 3 in 1 Tree.


The 297 foot tall Trinity Tree.


The Redwood Canopy Trail as noted above is the newest feature at Trees of Mystery and probably the best emulation of Return of Jedi (a Ewok free version) I've encountered.  













The Cathedral Trees upon returning to the Kingdom of Trees trail.


The turn towards the Skytrail offers a view of the substructure of the Redwood Canopy Trail.  


The Forest Experience Trail connects the Kingdom of Trees Trail to the Skytrail.  The Brotherhood Tree can found on the Forest Experience Trail.  The Brotherhood Tree once stood at a height of 297 feet but has been reduced by lighting. 




The Skytrail ascends from the vicinity of the Brotherhood Tree to Teds Ridge.  From Teds Ridge the Pacific Ocean can be viewed to the west and Rattlesnake Ridge to east.  The Wilderness Trail can be taken as an alternate to the tramway borne Skytrail. 










The Tower Inferno Tree. 


Trees of Mystery also featured numerous wood carved sculpture displays and art. 





 






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more