The golden age of the Redwood Highway occurred from around the 1920s to about the late 1960s, beginning with improved road access and flourishing with the rise of the American road trip.
During this period, the route became a destination in itself, known for its scenic grandeur and quirky roadside attractions. The opening of faster interstate highways in the 1960s ultimately ended this era of leisurely travel.

Contributions by:
Humboldt County Historical Society, the National and State Parks, Cal. Poly. Humboldt Special Collections, the Humboldt Project, Confusion Hill, Trees of Mystery, Carl’s Car World, Wendy Petty, Ben Shepherd, Wendy Wahlund, Bo Bacon, Brigitte Vega Silva, Dana Fredsti, David Fitzgerald, David Wilson, and “Touring the Old Redwood Highway Humboldt County” by Diane Hawk. 

The Early Years 1900-1920s

Humboldt County was incredibly isolated in the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. During the 19th century, the only options for the ordinary traveler were to come by steamship or stagecoach. For years, the overland route remained a string of incredibly twisting and treacherous roads, snaking their way through the mountains—almost all of it unpaved or, in rare spots, covered with wooden planking.

In 1914, the railroads finally reached Humboldt, connecting the Northwest region with the rest of the railway system. Trains went a long way toward opening up the region, but tourism really took off with the building of the highway system.

Redwood Highway - Pioneer Construction Across Soft, Muddy Earth”, Cal Poly Humboldt Special Collection, Cat. # 1999.07.2136

Members of the Women’s Save the Redwoods League in 1919. From left, Mrs. A. J. Monroe, Mrs. Kate Harpst, driver Frank Silence, Mrs. T. Atkinson and Mrs. Fred Georgeson pause during a tour of Humboldt County. Freeman Art Company from Humboldt County Historical Society Collection

The Save the Redwoods League, founded in 1918, spearheaded a major campaign to protect the ancient trees from logging. The highway is historically tied to the logging industry, but it also played a crucial role in raising public awareness of the redwoods, which helped lead to the establishment of state and national parks. In the 1920s, the league worked with state and county governments to acquire redwood groves adjacent to the highway in southern Humboldt County. As more visitors arrived, driving through majestic redwood groves, a growing sentiment to preserve the county’s unparalleled natural beauty arose. 

In November 1926, the first State Highway Bond Act Legislative Route 1 officially became part of US Route 101, and quickly became known as the Redwood Highway. This connected the remote redwood coast to major cities like San Francisco and replaced inadequate dirt roads and ferries.

Between 1920 and 1960, tourism in Humboldt County grew from a trickle of intrepid road trippers to a major economic pillar, driven by the automobile and a powerful redwood conservation movement. The construction of the Redwood Highway in the early 1920s opened the region to automobile travelers, effectively “parting the redwood curtain.” As the Redwood Highway improved, places like Garberville and Eureka became tourist destinations, pushing them to develop new accommodations and attractions to cater to the influx of visitors.

The new wave of motorized tourists created a demand for roadside lodging. In the 1920s, simple auto camps for pitching tents evolved into cabins that included amenities like kitchens and showers. As travel increased, towns along the Redwood Highway became crucial stops. Locales like Benbow in southern Humboldt became small resort communities with cabins, stores, and a post office, in Benbow’s case, blossoming alongside the newly-built inn.

Roadside Camping Along the Redwood Highway at Richardson Grove c.1920s Clarke Historical Museum Collection

The Boom Years 1930s-1940s

Redwood Highway c.1920s Humboldt Project Collection

The Redwood Highway was a key transportation project for early 20th-century California. Although first conceived in 1909, paving the highway in Humboldt County wasn’t really completed until the 1930s. Before then, the highway was an unpaved, dangerous, narrow, and winding route with lots of extreme curves. Because of these driving conditions, it could take three or four days to get from San Francisco to Eureka.

Many auto-camps and auto-courts were established along the highway to accommodate the many travelers who needed a place to stop overnight. The first camping accommodations were free municipal parks or “auto-camps.” Travelers took quite a bit of gear on the road with them, including tents, cots, cooking materials, and spare tires. Flat tires were a common occurrence in early vehicles, so it was necessary to bring multiple spares. It was also common for vehicles to overheat on steep grades, meaning drivers needed to bring other spare parts.

Pulschers Motor Inn c.1930s Clarke Historical Museum Collection

Pepperwood Cottage Court c.1940s Clarke Historical Museum Collection

The 1920s and 1930s saw a massive increase in car ownership in California. The growing mobility of the public, combined with improved roads, made the classic American road trip a popular leisure activity. The early two-lane road offered a more intimate and leisurely travel experience than today's highways, defined by small communities and unique stops. Local entrepreneurs caught on to the opportunity and started to advertise for camping spots, which eventually evolved into tent platforms with gas pumps and small stores or cafes. 

Redwood Highway 1940's-50's Cal. Poly. Humboldt Special Collection, cat. # 2007.002.0011

Business dropped significantly during WWII due to gas rationing and the general discouragement of casual travel. Once the war was over, the public was ready to hit the road once again! Post-WWII auto tourism in California boomed due to affordable cars, cheap gas, and the development of the freeway system, turning road trips into a popular family vacation and fostering a distinct car culture with cruising, drive-ins, and roadside attractions. This era saw rapid growth in car ownership, roadside motels replacing auto-courts, and the birth of the iconic American car culture.  

After a few years, however, the public began to lose interest in camping. The tent platforms turned into small cabins—at first, you still needed to bring your own bedding and cooking gear. Most often there was a communal bathroom to be shared. As travel conditions improved, cabins were upgraded and came with amenities such as hot and cold running water, heat, bathrooms, beds with linens, and garages; some even had kitchens. Auto-camps became “auto-courts” and later became known as motor hotels—or “motels.”

The Decline 1950s & Onward

The Redwood Highway saw extensive redevelopment during the 1950s and 1960s. This resulted in many small towns that originally boomed due to the Redwood Highway being bypassed. In 1960, a realignment of the Redwood Highway was finished, bypassing the towns of Phillipsville, Miranda, Weott, Englewood, and Pepperwood. The Redcrest bypass was built in stages during the 1960s. Between 1966–1968, the Redwood Highway was extended, fully bypassing the Benbow, Garberville, and Redway area and updating it to modern freeway standards. Many significant sections of the old road were bypassed between the 1960s–1970s as part of a major modernization of US 101 through Redwood National Park and surrounding areas, including the Orick area. 

Humboldt Times 1960 Internet Archive Collection

All of these realignments and extensions paved the way for the current U.S 101 Highway. Unfortunately, this redirection of traffic to a safer and faster highway meant a decline in the tourist population within these small towns. In the end, it was a combination of factors that saw a change in the business landscape of the Redwood Highway. They included: a major flood in 1955, the redevelopment of a four-lane highway, new motels, and changing expectations in the traveler’s needs. Moving into the 1950s and 1960s, the traveling public was losing interest in the little cabins hidden amongst the redwood trees. Now people wanted more modern conveniences such as televisions, telephones, and swimming pools, which all appeared in these new, clean motels popping up all over the place. The 1960s saw a faster freeway built alongside the original highway to bypass the slower, more winding— and flood-prone parts of the road. The floods of 1955 and 1964 caused much destruction, further solidifying the need for modern, rerouted infrastructure.

Klamath after the 1955 Flood Cal. Poly. Humboldt Special Collection, cat. # 2012.02.0028

By the end of the 1950s, the shift away from the logging boom was well underway, and tourism was firmly established as a key part of the local economy. The groundwork for state—and eventually national—parks was laid by the Save the Redwoods League’s land acquisitions. The auto-camping craze gave way to more modern motels as the interstate system developed. By the late 1960s, Humboldt County had transformed from an isolated lumber outpost to a recognized destination for road-tripping vacationers, largely on the strength of its redwoods. 

After the US 101 bypass was finished in 1960, the former section of US 101 going through Humboldt Redwoods State Park was designated as State Route 254 and renamed the Avenue of the Giants. This scenic road continues to provide an immersive drive through towering coast redwoods. Today, the spirit of the Redwood Highway's golden age lives on along scenic routes like the Avenue of the Giants, which allows visitors to experience the majesty of the ancient forests at a slower, more deliberate pace.