Bolling Grove is a small, easy-to-explore piece of lowland with large trees on the Avenue of the Giants. The grove has no hiking trails, but it is one of the most popular stops on the avenue because the large trees are clearly visible from the street and there is a convenient pullout right in front of them. On weekends and holidays there are almost always a few people walking around taking photos.
Bolling Grove was the very first grove dedicated in Humboldt Redwoods; A three-square-mile parcel containing the grove was purchased in 1921 along with the first groves of Richardson Grove, Standish-Hickey, Prairie Creek and Del Norte Coast Redwoods.
The grove lies on a floodplain at the confluence of Elk Creek and the Eel River. Although it is only about 50 meters wide, it features some truly impressive mammoth redwoods. The largest trees surround a clear area next to the pullout that makes a great first impression when you step out of your car.
The ground cover has been completely worn away by foot traffic, leaving a cover of redwood needles that makes it easy to hike among the giant trees. Unofficial paths lead a few meters outside this area to the banks of the stream, which flows through a depressed channel carved into the soft ground. Outside the main cluster of redwoods and across the creek, the trees quickly become much smaller.