On the Trail to Todd Creek Redwoods

Sanborn County Park

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” - John Muir

Directions: From the intersection of Highway 92 and 35 (Skyline Blvd.), go south on Skyline for 18 miles to the Castle Rock State Park entrance. You can park here ($5/day use fee) or find free parking along Skyline Boulevard.

Grade: Moderate. Elevation loss, then gain of 500 feet.

Distance: Four miles round trip.

Time: Two to three hours.

Special Conditions: No dogs on trails. No water or toilet facilities. This park is managed by Santa Clara County (408-358-3741).

As you hike through parks and open space areas on the Peninsula, evidence of logging is often before you. Hillsides with large, cut logs slowly returning to the earth through the inevitable process of decay; streambeds clogged with the debris of limbs and felled trees; large stumps, some with springboard notches, with diameters of 10 or 12 feet; second-growth redwoods circling a huge mother stump.

And these views prompt a series of questions. How were the trees cut and moved a hundred years or more ago? How were mechanics or animal power used? Who were the early settlers and pioneers that built the lumber industry?

This week’s hike takes us to a pocket of redwood trees in an area otherwise dominated by fir, madrone, and oak. This area does not experience the fog drip common in the coastal areas where redwood forests are much larger due to more predictable sources of water. Rather, the Todd Creek Redwood Forest is fed by water from a small creek and protected by surrounding steep canyon slopes. This micro-climate is ideal for redwoods, and so the redwoods grew for a thousand or more years to a size of 8 to 10 feet in diameter. The mid-1800s Gold Rush brought a building boom to San Francisco, and the heavily forested Peninsula offered the commodity needed most—lumber, especially the straight grained, rot- and insect-resistant redwood. Todd Creek was no exception to this harvest, even though there were only a dozen or so large trees cut along the creekside.

To visit Todd Creek Redwoods, park along Skyline Boulevard, just south of the Castle Rock parking area. An old sign—Sanborn Skyline County Park—and a split rail fence identify the park entrance on the east side of Skyline Boulevard. Turn right (south) on Skyline Trail for the two-mile hike to Todd Creek.

A map of the park is posted at the trailhead, but copies are not available. For reference, we recommend the book, “South Bay Trails,” by Spangle and Rusmore, or the Sempervirens Fund Trail Map of Santa Cruz Mountains (Map 1).

The Skyline Trail runs parallel to Skyline Boulevard and doubles as a portion of the Bay Area Ridge Trail—a 400-mile project that will someday ring the Bay along the ridgeline. This 1.6-mile segment offers filtered views through tall fir and madrone trees. The trail winds in and out of numerous ravines. Along the way you will see old fence lines that identified property rights many years ago. Todd, Sandborn, McElrey, and Peterson were among the settlers who left their mark in the forest.

There are several access points from Skyline Boulevard, the most obvious being a set of steps with a wood railing on your right. Continue straight, passing an old metal “No Bikes” sign, and begin a descent to Todd Creek. In a few minutes, the trail will fork with Skyline going right and Sanborn straight ahead. Continue on Sanborn Trail .3 mile to the upper part of the redwood forest. Before crossing the creek, you will walk by several large redwood trees—not large enough for the loggers’ interest 100-plus years ago, but now they are beautiful specimens. For the next few hundred yards, you will find stumps of fallen trees and young second-growth redwoods. The creekbed still shows signs of lumber debris, but ferns and other undergrowth are continuing the restoration process. A few hundred years from now, and this will be a classic example of how nature cures itself over time.

This is a good place to picnic and enjoy a quiet getaway. Enjoy it soon

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail <tom@tomdavids.com>

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

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