Up Slate Creek Trail to Page Mill

Portola State Park

(In Search of Sawmills on the Peninsula)

"And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight." Genesis 2:9

Directions: Take Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35) south to Alpine Road. Go west 3.4 miles and turn left on State Park Road another 3.3 miles to park headquarters.

Grade: Strenuous.

Distance: 7 miles.

Special Conditions: Day use fees apply. Dogs not allowed on trail. For information on park activities, call 650-948-9098.

Most people living on the Peninsula recognize Page Mill Road as a major east/west arterial running through Palo Alto and west to Skyline Boulevard. What many do not know is that the “Page” in Page Mill is William Page—a merchant, a politician, and a lumberman, and the “Mill” refers to two sawmills he developed in what is now Portola Redwoods State Park.

William Page lived in Searsville, where he operated a general store and served as postmaster, courtesy of none other than President Abraham Lincoln in 1861 (The History of Jasper Ridge by Dorothy Regnery, Stanford Historical Society). Page was elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1864.

While commercially and politically involved on the east side of the Skyline ridge, Page hunted out good stands of timber west of the ridge and built two sawmills in the area of what is now Portola Redwoods State Park. He built his first mill in the Peters Creek Basin. In 1875 this mill was moved to Rock Creek (now Slate Creek), and that is the destination of this week’s hike. (“Sawmills in the Redwoods” by Frank Stanger, published by the San Mateo County Historical Association, 1967.)

You can hike to Page’s mill at Slate Creek from either Portola Redwoods State Park or Skyline Boulevard through the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. This week, we start from Portola Redwoods State Park.

From the Visitors Center/Park Office, continue toward the campground. Cross the bridge over Peters Creek and take the next right where signs direct you to group camps and the Campfire Center. Park in one of the marked spaces along the road.

Now you have two trail choices. You can take the Old Tree Trail, located next to the Ramada Group Day Use Area, or continue up the service road for about one-half mile to Summit Trail. We took the Old Tree Trail up and returned on Summit Trail.

After a short distance, the Old Tree Trail splits. Take the left fork to the Slate Creek Trail junction and turn right. For the next mile, the Slate Creek Trail moves in and out of ravines as it gains 500 feet in elevation through the redwood forest. This is a pleasant, well-graded hike on a narrow track that levels out on a ridgeline and intersects with the Summit Trail. At the junction, you can return on Summit Trail and wind down through a sunny hillside with characteristic hardwoods and shrubs.

Continue along the Slate Creek Trail, which for the next mile is almost level as it alternates along the ridgeline at the 1,000-foot elevation. Soon you will arrive at the Slate Creek Trail Camp. This camp, with designated sites is available to backpackers through the park's reservation system.

Continue on the Slate Creek Trail for a quarter-mile to where a seasonal stream on your left crosses the trail and joins Slate Creek. This is the site of Page’s second sawmill. Look closely and you will see large cut timber in the ground still marking the spot.

Stanger reports that William Page’s mills gave him “a permanent place on the pages and maps of history, though his personal connection with the events concerned was brief.” Three years after he started his first mill in 1867, Page sold his interest to his business associate and partner in the Searsville store—Alexander Peers—who ran the sawmill.

This is a beautiful seven-mile hike through deep redwood forest and along ridgelines. You can extend it another six miles by hiking to the first millsite in Peters Creek Grove. But watch your time and energy level. The hike includes a steep drop of 800 feet and subsequent return and with hang time. You should plan at least another four hours.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

Email tom@tomdavids.com

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