Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

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Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka. The 14,000-acre (57 km²) park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwood trees.

The park is jointly managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service as a part of the Redwood National and State Parks. These parks (which includes Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, and Redwood National Park) have been collectively designated as a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.

The park is also home to the tailed frog, Roosevelt elk and several species of salmon.

Popular sites in the park are Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach.

[edit] Events

On January 25, 2007, a 70-year old man was attacked by a mountain lion while hiking in the park with his wife. Park rangers credit Nell Hamm, of Fortuna, with saving the life of her husband, Jim, by beating the mountain lion on the head with a four inch log. In response to the attack, park officials tracked and killed two mountain lions which will be flown to a state forensics lab near Sacramento to determine if either animal mauled the man. [1] A forensics test showed that one of the two mountain lions shot following the attack had human blood on its claws.[2]