Portola Redwoods SP
Directions: There are different ways to get there but I took Page Mill Road west from 280. Page Mill ends at Highway 35 and turns into Alpine Road on the other side of 35. Take Alpine Road about 3 miles and turn left at the sign for Portola Redwoods State Park.
Parking Fee: $6.00
Facilities: Yes, restrooms, camping, etc.
looking for the Slate Creek Trail
The park headquaters
Found it!
Heading out ...
And walking though the forest
In the shadow of giants!
At the Bear Creek Trail junction
Warning sign, make sure you have enough time!
Heading down the Bear Creek Trail
Almost to the bottom
At the bottom
One hiker heads back up the Bear Creek Trail
Another shot of the
View behind our lunch spot
Along Peter’s Creek
Crossing Peter’s Creek
Checking out the old car
It sure is a beauty!
Got to take another shot
And just one more picture ...
Back at the Slate Creek Trail and Bear Creek Trail junction
Heading down the Summit Trail
A couple of water tanks along the trail
An amphitheater
On Saturday, August 18, 2007, I joined in with a local meetup.com group for a hike in Portola Redwoods State Park
Trail route: Slate Creek Trail -> Bear Creek Trail -> Peters Creek Loop -> Bear Creek Trail -> Slate Creek Trail -> Summit Trail -> end.
National Geographic TOPO! software website:
GPS Stats
Distance hiked: 10.4 miles
Total ascent: 2129 ft
Trailhead Elevation: ~400 ft
Max Elevation: 1483 ft
Moving time: 3 hrs 10 min
Moving Average: 3.2 mph
Overall average: 1.9 mph
Time stopped: 2 hrs 20 min
Personal stats
Dates Hiked:
18-Aug-2007
Start time: ~ 10 AM
Weather: Clear and sunny. Temperatures were in the 70’s to low 80’s F for the hike.
Water consumed: 2.7 liters
plus 600 ml Gatorade back at my car.
Finish time: ~ 3:30 PM
Total time: ~ 5.5 hours
Beauty: Tree shaded trails, ferns, running creeks, and gorgeous and towering redwood groves.
Wildlife seen: Wildlife seen: Nothing unless you count the stuffed animals in the park headquarters. They have a nice display of animals normally found in the area. We were harassed by mosquitos though (I got beaned) and out hike leader took a yellow jacket sting during the hike.
Difficulty: This hike had some significant uphill grades to it and would not be appropriate for the out of shape couch potato or the unprepared.
Here it is, the waning months of summer and I am still trying to knock off with hikes as many of the local parks as I can. And here I have lived in the Bay Area since September 1977 and in all that time I have never, ever been to Portola Redwoods State Park. Pretty bad I guess but now 30 years later I can say I have been there by way of a delightful hike with our local Meetup.com hiking group, “Let’s hike and maybe take a break if we get tired” group. This hike was let by Chris J. and was billed as a 12-13 mile hike with 1800 ft of elevation gain.
There were about 9 or 10 of us who met at the Park Headquarters for this hike and the only downside for me was the assault by mosquitos. I took several bites before I got some Deet on but then I was never bothered again.
Otherwise, we found the trailhead for the Slate Creek Trail and headed up it with a gentle enough climb. I’m slow on hills but this climb didn’t bother me that much. After about 2.5 miles we hit the junction with the Bear Creek Trail, which takes you down to Peter’s Creek Loop.
The descent down the Bear Creek Trail is fairly steep in spots and so if you hike down it, the only way out is to hike back up it. Once you get down though, there is a very pretty spot with an old fallen log next to Bear Creek where you can sit and have a lunch or snack break surrounded by the serenity of redwood giants.
From there we caught the Peter’s Creek Loop trail which does a mile long loop around both sides of a section of Peter’s Creek. There are a lot of redwood trees there and it is a pretty spot.
After completing the loop we headed back up the Bear Creek Trail which presents a pretty good climb to get up and out. After pumping out some sweat we all made it and continued on back.
And though I am not sure how we missed it heading out, but on the way back we saw an old wreck of a car hidden in the foliage along the Bear Creek Trail. There is no road nearby and I have no idea how the old car got there. It does provide some nice photo opportunities though. Maybe some day I’ll return with my SLR and a tripod and see what I can do with it.
Otherwise, the return trip was unremarkable except that it was mostly a pretty hike. The Summit Trail did seem seem to descend steeper though than what the climb up the Slate Creek Trail was. But then it is a shorter section of trail that gets you back close to the starting point. All in all though, Portola Redwoods is a fine park and this felt like one of the nicer hikes I did this summer. Now let’s see some pictures.
