Just a short drive from the Crescent City rental house, the wild Rhododendrons stand out most spectacularly in the nearby Redwoods of Del Norte County.

There are many gardens in the Crescent City area that have beautiful displays of these colorful flowers in late spring, but the contrast of their bright blooms in the thick of the deep shady forest is wonderful.

Many of the trails in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and other parks in the Crescent City area display these spectacular flowers in the dark red and green of the Redwoods.

Photographers have their work cut out because of the great contrast of sunlight slipping through the trees to illuminate the blossoms right next to the dark shade of Redwood's bark and evergreen branches.