Eight miles northeast of Brookings on North Bank Chetco River Road along the Chetco River, Loeb State Park preserves 320 acres of old-growth myrtlewood, the state’s largest grove. Many of the aromatic trees are much older than 200 years.

The 0.25-mile Riverview Trail passes numerous big trees to connect Loeb Park with the Redwood Nature Trail. This trail winds 1.2 miles through the northernmost stands of naturally occurring Sequoia sempervirens. This is Oregon’s largest redwood grove and contains the state’s largest specimens.

Within the grove are several trees more than 500 years old, measuring 5–8 feet in diameter, towering more than 300 feet above the forest floor. One tree has a 33-foot girth and is estimated to exceed 800 years in age.

When the south coast is foggy and cold on summer mornings, it’s often warm and dry in upriver locations such as this one, inviting the possibility of swimming in the Chetco River.