Experience California’s Iconic Redwoods From A New Sky Walk
Many travelers enjoy visiting the ancient redwood forests in California but now have a chance to view these giant trees from a new perspective.
California is renowned for its soaring redwood forests. The redwood tree’s official name is Sequoia sempervirens and this is the sole living species of the original genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae. These towering, evergreen trees are known to live for 1,200 – 2,200 years or more. These towering trees are a truly wonderful experience to view, but now that experience has been made even better by the introduction of a new “sky walk.” This will bring visitors even closer to the iconic giant trees and allow them to be viewed from a different angle.
Redwood Sky Walk At Sequoia Park Zoo
Many travelers enjoy experiencing California’s ancient redwood forests with the amazing trees towering over their heads. However, now, visitors will get a chance to be a little closer to the redwoods lofty canopies on a brand new “sky walk.”
The Redwood Sky Walk at Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, California is set to launch its grand opening over the weekend of June 4 to 6, while allowing visitors to explore the forest at a height of 100-feet above the ground.
According to the Visit Eureka Instagram account, guests at the opening weekend will enjoy subject matter expert talks, get the chance to participate in the first-ever yoga class on the Redwood Sky Walk, and end the day with an evening under the stars and trees with a fundraising event featuring a silent auction and live music.
Longest Skywalk In The Western United States
The Redwood Sky Walk consists of a series of connected elevated bridges, taking visitors up to the raised platforms surrounding the trees. Here visitors can view the old-growth redwood grove from a completely new perspective.
According to the zoo, the Sky Walk is an almost one-quarter mile in length and will be the longest sky walk in the Western United States. The zoo states that as there are no stairs involved in the experience, the entire Sky Walk is ADA-accessible, with the exception of one, optional adventure portion.
Located within Sequoia Park, the Redwood Sky Walk is set in a 67-acre grove close to the city of Eureka. Eureka is located within Humboldt County, which also hosts the Redwood National Park. In that park, more than 45 percent of the state’s remaining, protected, old-growth redwood forests exist.
Redwood Sky Walk Doesn’t Impact Nature
Meanwhile, according to the zoo, the Sky Walk and its platforms are suspended from the trees and have no detrimental impact on the forest floor below. In fact, the platforms are designed to “ensure negligible impact” on the redwoods, in order to allow them to continue to grow.
Visitors should note, however, that while the platforms bring them much closer to the trees, they should avoid touching their delicate bark.
COVID-19 Guidelines In Place
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, visitors are assured that the grand opening of the Redwood Sky Walk will conform to the current coronavirus guidelines. However, California is getting ready to remove many of the state’s restrictions relating to visitor capacity and social distancing by June 15.
Make a note to visit Eureka and the Redwood Sky Walk over its inaugural weekend from June 4 – 6.
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