French Hill Trail

French Hill Trail

French Hill Trail

Location: Smith River National Recreation Area, Del Norte County, CA
Miles: 5.6 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Duration: 3 – 3.5 hours
Users: Hikers, dogs, horses, and bikes permitted. No wheelchair access.
Features: Steep trail, Douglas fir and sugar pine forest, automatic rain gauge

You can get the best of both worlds in French Hill Trail. While getting a good exercise in, visitors can still enjoy the occasional views of the Smith Valley and Gasquet. There are gardens of berries at the edges of the trail that you can snack on in the summer.

This trail begins out front of the Smith River National Recreation Area’s visitor center. The trail is 2.8 miles each direction, and has two trees marked with a 1 and 2 respectively indicating the mile markers. The berry thickets give way to a low understory of ferns and salal under a canopy of Douglas Fir as the trail ascends.

Top 3 Adventure Hacks

1) Ride your mountain bike

French Hill Trail is a great training ground for mountain bikes. Always handy to bring a Mini GPS Keychain Tracker so you never get lost.

2) Taste the berries!

Try to taste the berries when you take this trail! Mother nature is always giving, appreciate by snacking on some berries in return.

3) Take your dogs for a hike

Make it worthwhile to bond with your pets. This trail allows your dogs to accompany you on your trek! An exercise for you and man’s best friend.