RV rental Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area, CA: Motorhome rentals, camper van rentals and more

Numerous parks make up an impressive network of amazing redwood preserves in northern California, containing the tallest and oldest trees on the continent. Standish-Hickey State Recreation area is the southernmost of these parks, situated along US-101, also known as the Redwood Highway. This park’s landmark tree is the 1,200-year-old Captain Miles Standish Tree, towering 225 feet above the forest floor. Standish-Hickey SRA is 180 miles north of San Francisco, near Leggett. One of the best ways to explore this park and others is on a long road trip, and you can start by booking an RV in Mendocino County.

The Standish Tree greets park visitors today but was also an impressive tree when the Sinkyone hunter-gatherer people inhabited the area in ancient times. The entire region was extensively logged in the late 1800s and early 1900s, almost to the point of clearing every last redwood. This preserve started as a small 40-acre campground on donated land in 1922. Multiple other donations over the years have increased the preserve's current size to over 1,000 acres of old-growth and second-growth forests. The South Fork of the Eel River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, snakes for two miles through a wide canyon in the center of the park and provides ample recreation opportunities. Standish-Hickey SRA is also home to black bears, river otters, mountain lions, and foxes. Numerous birds soar high above and roost in the trees, including bald eagles, osprey, and herons.