Park Information

Weather

This inland river canyon has summer temperatures averaging 70 - 100°F. Winter temperatures vary from 30 - 55°F. Rainfall averages 70 inches each year.

Park History

The first known inhabitants of this region, the Sinkyone people, sustained themselves by hunting, fishing, and gathering food among the ancient redwoods. These Athabascan-speaking people were expert hunters who trained dogs to drive game to be caught. Sinkyone men and women made intricate, useful baskets.

Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area began as a 40-acre campground donated to the state in 1922 by the Hickey family. The donation honored Edward Ritter Hickey, a local lumberman’s son who died while caring for victims of the influenza epidemic of 1918. In the late 1950s, descendants of Captain Miles Standish—a pilgrim who landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620—donated more than 500 acres. Save the Redwoods League has made subsequent additions through the years, bringing the park’s current size to more than 1,000 acres.

Much of the land at Standish-Hickey was logged off and burned in a 1947 fire, but it is regaining its former beauty.

Wildlife

The Eel River has salmon and steelhead trout. Despite the river’s name, it holds no eels. The river does host eel the look-alike Pacific lamprey, a jawless fish that spawns in the river each spring.

Black-tailed deer, gray foxes, black bears, mountain lions, and river otters roam through the park. Eagles, owls, and hawks soar overhead, hunting small game. Other bird sightings include osprey, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, acorn woodpeckers, and scrub and Steller’s jays.

These species lists of Standish-Hickey's most common birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians were prepared by Team Standish president Jeff Hedin.

Bird List
Wild turkeys, California quail, mountain quail, blue grouse, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, bald eagle, golden eagle, turkey vulture, sparrow hawk, osprey, barred owl, spotted owl, northern saw-whet owl, western screech owl, burrowing owl, belted kingfisher, red-breasted sapsucker, downy woodpecker, black phoebe, cliff swallow, common raven, western scrub jay, chestnut-backed chickadee, Bewick’s wren, house wren, winter wren, water ouzel, ruby-crowned kinglet, American robin, varied thrush, hermit thrush, fox sparrow, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, great blue heron, merganser, cormorant, Steller’s jay, Allen’s hummingbird, wrentit, bushtit, mallard, western tanager, pileated woodpecker, and northern flicker.
 
Mammal List
Gray squirrel, Douglas’s squirrel, Sonoma chipmunk, California ground squirrel, black-tailed deer, black-tailed jackrabbit, gray fox, northern raccoon, bobcat, coyote, northern river otter, American mink, striped skunk, dusky-footed wood rat, North American porcupine, big brown bat, California Myotis, black bear, and mountain lion.

Reptile List
Western fence lizard, alligator lizard, western pond turtle, ringneck snake, rubber boa, gopher snake, common king snake, common garter snake, western rattlesnake, and western skink.

Amphibian List
Yellow-legged frog, western chorus frog, Pacific giant salamander, California newt, Pacific tree frog, western toad, bullfrog, southern torrent salamander, and red-bellied newt.

Plants

In the forest, second-growth coast redwoods compete for sunlight with oaks, alder, bay laurel, madrone, Douglas-fir, big-leaf maple, buckeye, and yew. Shrubs include huckleberry, manzanita, and coyote bush. Flowers include Indian warrior, milk maid, crimson columbine, and redwood sorrel.

The tallest redwood, the Miles Standish Tree, at 225 feet tall and 13 feet in diameter, is easy to spot from a distance. Thought to be more than 1,200 years old, the tree's scars come from a widespread 1947 fire and the axe of a 1930s evangelist’s rumored efforts to chop down the largest tree around. 

Erosion

Heavy annual rainfall combined with years of excessive logging to cause severe erosion on the steep bluffs on the east bank of the river.

Climate Change

Scientists studying the effects of rising global temperatures have found that the size and longevity of redwoods helps them store more climate-altering carbon dioxide than other plants. Even old redwoods continue to grow, each year adding more carbon-filled wood than smaller, younger trees. After redwoods die, their rot-resistant wood holds on to that carbon for a long time.

Rules & Notifications

  • No diving or jumping into the river. Stay away from steep and dangerous bluffs.
  • No lifeguards are on duty; children should be supervised at all times.
  • Contact with poison oak (even when dormant) can cause a severe rash.
  • Bicycles and motorbikes are allowed on paved roads, but not park trails.
  • Hunting and loaded firearms are prohibited.
  • Eight people are the maximum allowed at any one (non-group) campsite. 
  • All fires must be in fire rings. No collection of firewood is allowed.
  • Quiet hours are from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
  • Dogs must be on a leash no more than six feet long and must be confined to a tent or vehicle at night. Except for service animals, pets are not allowed on trails.  Dog owners may not want to let their dogs drink from the river, as a precaution against blue-green algae toxins.
  • All the normal rules of the road apply in the park, including speed limits (15 mph in the park), prohibitions on driving while intoxicated, and requirements for seatbelts, helmets, and driver’s licenses. 
  • All park features are protected by law and must not be disturbed or removed.