WEEKLY WALKER

By Tom Davids

 

 

A Pleasant Day in the Redwoods

Portola Redwoods State Park

 

"A walk is not a straight line, but a zigzag through time."           

 - Joan Connor

 

Directions: Take Skyline Boulevard south to Alpine Road. Turn west and continue for 3.4 miles to the junction with State Park Road. Turn left and continue another 3.3 miles to park headquarters.

Grade: Moderate.

Distance: 6.5 miles.

Time: Four hours.

Special Conditions: No dogs allowed on trails. Day use fee of $3 collected--self-check during off seasons. Fifty-three family campsites available. Heavy use during summer months. For information on Portola Redwoods State Park, call 650-948-9098 or use the Web site: www.cal-parks.ca.gov/

 

Portola Redwood is a beautiful park situated between Long Ridge Open Space Preserve and Pescadero Creek County Park, with Big Basin State Park just over the ridge to the south. From this park you can take long hikes for days on end. This week our walk is a moderate length trek along Pescadero Creek with side visits to the Tarwater Trail Camp, Snag Trail, Tiptoe Falls, and the Iverson Cabin Site.

Portola Redwoods has an interesting history. The property was owned by the Islam Temple Shrine of San Francisco and used as a summer retreat for its members from 1924 until 1945. During the war years, member interest waned and the property was sold to the state. In the 1960s, Portola resembled more of an amusement park than a wilderness area. Pescadero Creek was dammed to create a large swimming and fishing pool. Campsites were created, and the lodge served as an entertainment center to its 150,000 annual visitors. In 1974 the dam was removed, and Portola reverted to a quieter and more serene place popular for its hiking trails, camping, and nature study.

Start this hike from the parking lot opposite the lodge, also the parking area for the Madrone Picnic Area. The trailhead for Iverson Trail begins near the entry to the parking lot on the other side of the park entrance road. Various mileages are listed, including .4 miles to Pescadero Creek County Park. The trail leads up into the forest with the signs and sounds of the Pescadero Creek deep in the canyon below. As the trail continues under an electric pole line, it levels out and meets a junction with the Coyote Ridge Trail, just before crossing the service road. Stay on the Iverson Trail, and in a short distance you will intersect with the Pomponio Trail.

We followed the Iverson Trail to Pescadero Creek. The footbridge over the creek has been removed, but it will be replaced during May for the summer season. With the bridge in place, your hike can continue on the Iverson Trail along the south side of Pescadero Creek with a visit to Tiptoe Falls and the Iverson Cabin Site before you return on the service road to the park office. The Iverson Trail Loop is about 2.3 miles long and a swell walk for the whole family.

We decided not to wade across Pescadero Creek, but climbed back to the trail junction and turned left along the Pomponio Trail for one mile to the Bridge Trail. This is a pleasant, mostly level walk through the deep redwood forest bordered with huckleberry shrubs. About halfway along, the single-track trail joins a wide service road that was used to move lumber out of the canyon. Various wide spots along the road were probably sites of logging operations during the early 1900s.

At the next junction, continue straight ahead a few hundred feet and explore the Tarwater Trail Camp. Or turn left and hike down the Bridge Trail (another wide service road) to the bridge over Pescadero Creek. The posted elevation there is 340 feet above sea level . Climb along the Bridge Trail for .3 miles to the junction with Old Haul Road and turn right. Old Haul Road is open to bicycles from Pescadero Creek County Park. Continue west for .6 mile to the intersection with Snag Trail. We ate lunch there and decided to return on the Snag Trail back to Bridge Trail. This .4-mile segment features three huge redwood trees destroyed by fire or other apparent natural causes. One shows a high twisted trunk, giving the appearance of a tightly twisted wash rag.

At the Snag Trail-Bridge Trail junction, turn right and then left on Old Haul Road. Passing through a large meadow, the road continues mostly level past Hooker Creek, the Ridge Trail Junction (your route to Big Basin state Park), Fall Creek, and Iverson Creek for a total of 1.7 miles to the gated end of the road at the public property limit. Hike .4 mile back to Portola Trail (which is also your bike route to the campground) and turn right downhill, then left on the Iverson Trail to Tiptoe Falls. Along the way, we had to climb up, over, and through a large tree that fell down on the trail. After some effort, we were back on our way.

Tiptoe Falls is small (maybe 8 feet high), but very nice after a season of rain. The waterway is lined with ferns and horsetails, and the secluded grotto at the base of the falls is a fine spot to rest and picnic.

From the falls we continued on the Iverson Trail for a short distance to Pescadero Creek. There is no bridge at this location, so we decided to wade the creek (about a foot deep) and walk the short distance back to our car. At the service road, we detoured and turned right for a brief visit to Iverson's Cabin Site. Christian Iverson, a homesteader, built his cabin in 1868. It served him well, but it gradually deteriorated during the 1900s until the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 delivered the fatal blow. Now it is only a pile of boards, but an important part of the local history.

The trial to the cabin site is just beyond the service road bridge over Pescadero Creek and alongside a few park employee residences. A sign marks the spot.

There are other interesting hikes in Portola Redwood State Park--some short, others long--but all worthy of your time and effort.  

            Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.

Footnote: Check out the Weekly Walker Web site at www.weeklywalker.com.