Fern Canyon

In Northern California’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (just outside of Redwood National Park) is a narrow canyon with walls that stand over 30 feet high. The walls are shrouded in lush ferns and a variety of other planets and mosses. There are five different types of ferns that line the canyon’s walls, some of “whose ancestry can be traced back 325 million years.” The canyon itself is surrounded by a dense forest of coastal Redwoods, including some of the world's tallest trees.

Famous because it was used as a filming location for The Lost World: Jurassic Park and the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs, the canyon is visited by many people who use the hiking trail that runs between the fern-covered walls.

The small creek that runs through the canyon occasionally floods in the winter, but the canyon is typically accessible year around.

Update as of September 2022: A permit is required to visit fern canyon between May 1 and September 30.