Walking the Dog at Butano

Butano State Park

“Take to the woods on windy days. It’s quieter there." - John Kiernan, “A Spring Walk”

Directions: South on Highway 1 to Pescadero Road. Turn left and drive to Cloverdale Road (2.5 miles). Turn right and continue 4.2 miles to park entrance. The entrance kiosk is less than half a mile. From the Peninsula, you can also take Highway 84 (La Honda Road), cross Skyline and watch for signed cutoff to Pescadero. Turn left on Cloverdale Road a couple miles east of Pescadero.

Grade: Moderate.

Distance: Six miles.

Time: Three hours.

Special Conditions: A day-use fee is charged if the entrance kiosk is open. Maps are available at the kiosk. Dogs must be on leash and are permitted in the campground, picnic areas, paved service roads, and fire roads, but not on hiking trails. For information, call 650-879-2040.

Butano State Park Brochure: Click this Link

State parks are not known for their fine dog walks. In fact, most state parks permit dogs only in campgrounds or on major service roads. Butano State Park, near the coast at the town of Pescadero is a welcome change. Here, while dogs are not allowed on hiking trails, they are permitted in campgrounds, picnic areas, paved roads--and fire roads. And that makes Butano a fine opportunity for dog walks.

We took good dog Mack on a six-mile hike at Butano a few weeks ago. We parked at the picnic area just in from the entrance kiosk and walked into the park along an asphalt road. The forest cover starts with oak and fir, but soon the canyon deepens and gives way to a dense redwood forest that is especially beautiful in the winter months. On the left is a flume built to transport water from a dam upstream. Portions of the flume are made of poured concrete, but soon the structure is wood, supported on vertical timbers at just the right level to maintain a downhill flow. The original flume and reservoir were built many years ago to carry water from Little Butano Creek to several small reservoirs in the Cloverdale Road Valley for irrigation pruposes. The flume was destroyed during the Loma Prieta Earthquake, and the farmers and property owners in the valley paid for this replacement.

A short distance up the creek is a concrete dam. Heavy wooden planks were set in vertical slots to hold water at a given level. The area behind the dam is now totally filled with dirt, but a portion of the winter runoff finds its way to the flume.

Proceeding up the asphalt road toward the Ben Ries Campground, watch for a dirt service road on your right. The road is not named; however, there is parking for two or three cars on the right side of the entrance, and it is signed “For Authorized Vehicles Only.” One hundred feet or so up the road, you will cross Six Bridges Trail, which connects a campfire center on your left to the Ano Nuevo Trail. However, this cross trail is for hiking and is not a fire road, so march straight ahead (if you have a dog). The road climbs to a large water tank, then turns sharply to the west. The landscape is dominated by towering redwoods and moss-covered Douglas fir. The road climbs to a junction with the Olms Fire Road and Goat Hill Trail. Continue your climb on the fire road to the junction with Ano Nuevo Trail, and turn left.

If all this sounds confusing, don’t worry. Just stay on the wide road and off the narrow trails, and carry on. When you top off along the ridgeline, continue hiking northeast. Views open up on either side as the trees thin out a bit.

You can take this fire road dog walk on a long 11-mile loop—Olms Fire Road to Butano Fire Road, and then return west to Cloverdale Road. At the road, turn left and walk along the road for a mile to the park entrance. Make sure you have the park trail map before launching out on this expedition hike.

We turned around at Doe Ridge Trail and retraced our steps to the picnic area. Don’t let the idea of walking on a “fire road” dissuade you. This is a walk of rare beauty—I guarantee it, and your dog will love it.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail to: tom@tomdavids.com.

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