I love the redwoods.

I mean, everybody does… it’s pretty tough NOT to love them. But I grew up in the redwoods, went to college in a redwood forest, and then spent five years living in the forest, leading hikes and teaching about the ecosystem (get ready for some FUN REDWOOD FACTS!).

The redwoods of the Northern California coast are collectively known as Redwoods National and State Parks. There’s a bit of a patchwork of management between the National Park Service and California State Parks.

My personal favorite area is Jedidiah Smith State Park. Especially for a redwood elopement. It has many beautiful trails to choose from that have varying degrees of accessibility.

Some of my favorite elopement or engagement spots in the redwoods are in the Simpson Reed hiking area. From the accessible trails, you can see some of the most interesting aspects of redwood forest ecology.

The spectacular splay of redwood roots of downed trees– redwoods actually have fairly shallow roots for how tall they are. The roots of plants are multifunctional, to hold the plant in place and to absorb water. Redwoods grow where there tends not to be a ton of ground water to reach for, so they don’t reach their roots that deep.

In fact, redwoods are quite famous in the plant biology world for their foliar uptake ability (that just means they can absorb water through their leaves). This is an important ability because they are SO TALL, that they push the physical limits of a tree’s ability to transport water from the ground to the very top branches.

Additionally, you’re likely to experience something called “redwood rain.” It’s not actual rain, but rather the accumulation of fog on the tree’s leaves and limbs. The drops get heavier and heavier, then drip to the ground, where a system of shallow roots is more likely to be able to absorb it.

This has the disadvantage of shallow roots is that it compromises the tree’s stability. BUT, they’ve a clever solution to that: community. They rely on the tangled mess of roots from other trees to keep themselves upright in storms. They literally hold each other up.

(I love how many metaphors for life you can find in the ecology of a redwood forest…)

I could go on and on, but I’ll save some of my fun facts for other blog posts 🙂

Redwoods Elopement Photographer

I’d be so stoked to share even more redwood facts with you on your elopement or engagement! When the time comes, and you start planning your redwoods elopement, I’d be honored to be considered as your photographer.

I live in Central Oregon and travel all over the PNW, all the way down the coast of California, to photograph love stories in epic scenery (and epic ecology!).

If you have any questions at all about what goes into planning an adventure elopement, please feel free to reach out (no pressure!). I’m happy to answer any questions you have.