Learn about Redwoods

Coast redwoods thrive only along the Pacific coast, from Big Sur to Oregon. In the southern Bay Area, they stretch across the Santa Cruz Mountains, from Silicon Valley to the Pacific Ocean. They’ve been here for at least 20 million years.

Redwoods provide critical habitat for a vast array of wildlife—like mountain lions, bobcat, coyotes, coho salmon, and the endangered marbled murrelet. As the Earth’s climate changes, the Santa Cruz Mountains are one of only a handful of areas where certain plants and animals can survive, thanks to a diversity of regional microclimates, cooling from coastal fog, and largely unpaved lands.

The trees themselves are rare, precious, and fascinating. They exist naturally only here along the California and Oregon coasts, and they dominate their landscapes not only because they are the tallest trees in the world, but also because of their resilience, especially as they thrive and regenerate with fire.