Juggernaut Redwood in Prairie Creek State Park

by Mario Vaden

The coast below called Juggernaut is located in the Prairie Creek redwood park. The size volume is not among the 25 largest, but the trunk is giant and very photogenic. Actually this Juggernaut redwood is probably bigger than Chesty Puller redwood in the Grove of Titans is the large single bole is taken into account. The view from this angle shows the ease for photo composition.

Several people have confused this with a new discovery Big Kahuna (Spartan). But this was the only coast redwood we published as Juggernaut. You can see from the other redwood page there is no close resemblance. Gerald Beranek, a redwood book author, refers to this one as Colossus and he's known about the redwood for decades as have hundreds who've seen and photographed it for decades. It's in plain view from Drury Scenic Parkway.

Among all big coast redwoods this was the pick for my last business cards. The image for my cards was captured back in 2009, whereas the photo below is from around 2017. Later, I switched to the Howland Hill Giant on my large business cards (same photo as the cover of 101 Things to Do magazine Southern Oregon and Del Norte, 2014).

Continued reading following the image ...

 

 

Its doubtful sharing this redwood will affect foot traffic around it. If by chance you stumble upon this redwood, spare the walk around and find the existing small open patch to avoid ferns, sorrel or salal. This redwood is in the southeast part of the park within 3 miles of the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park visitor center.

It should be visible from the parkway while passing through, but you could miss it if distracted by other scenery, especially going north. This is probably more obvious while moving southward.

Facing this trunk's most exposed side there is a small burl about 25 feet up from the ground and no extra stems of any size for at least 100 feet or more. The main bole is relatively streamlined with a moderate taper.

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