World War II Radar Station in Redwood National Park
Location: Redwood National and State Parks (Coastal Dr., just south of the mouth of Klamath River)
When to visit: Daytime hours
Cost: Free to enter Redwood National park
Time needed to enjoy: 10 minutes
Website: NPS radar station page
Hidden among the gorgeous giant trees of Redwood National and State Parks in northern California is a fascinating relic from World War II. It’s a radar station built in late 1942 to fend off possible Japanese military strikes, when such attacks seemed possible after the ambush of Pearl Harbor and other Japanese submarine attacks on the U.S. west coast.
The military could have tried to camouflage the structures in the forest, but instead they chose to disguise them as “farm buildings.” One looked like a farmhouse, another was a barn and a third was an outhouse. All were part of Radar Station B-71 and actually housed radar and anti-aircraft weapons. Clever!
The outhouse is now gone, and you can’t go inside the remaining buildings, but you can walk up to them and see how unassuming they appear. There’s a sign describing the history of the site, which was shut down shortly after the war and became a privately-owned property until the land became part of Redwood National Park.
Check out the view the workers had from the hillside. No wonder the Army chose this site as a lookout!
That’s super clever — farm houses are an easy disguise!
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I think they should have had a pen for goats and chickens to make it more believable, but that’s just me.
Very cool. I love all the camouflage ideas. Another example from WWII was when an airplane manufacturing plant was turned into a small suburban village through the use of camo-netting. Genius.
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Camo-netting, that’s a fascinating idea.
The Redwoods and Northern California coast are pretty spectacular. I guess I missed this old radar station when I’ve been up that way. Interesting bit of history.
I agree, that part of the country is impressive.
This is interesting! And this is not a bad view at all to have while serving in the military….
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I thought it was a nice surprise to stumble across.