The Redwood Grove
Loop Trail

Length 0.8 mi · Climbing 20 ft
California > San Francisco Bay Area > Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Redwood Grove Loop Trail

Background

Henry Cowell Redwood State Park's old growth grove is on an alluvial flat just south of the logging town of Felton. A 0.8-mile loop trail circles through the grove, which is often pierced by the hoots of steam trains. Although the forest certainly has that old-growth redwood feel, redwoods do not dominate here as they do in other alluvial flat groves. Mixed in with the redwoods is a thick layer of tanoak and bay trees that gives the grove the appearance of a dense deciduous forest and tends to obscure the redwoods. The broadleaf growth is densest within the redwood loop; old-growth areas just outside the loop have a more open appearance, suggesting that the grove's appearance is dramatically affected by land-management policies like fire suppression.

An unusually high number of the redwoods within the grove are misshapen. There's a lush undergrowth of ferns and redwood sorrel.

The old-growth grove was the first coast redwood grove to be saved from logging. It was purchased in 1867 by Joseph Welch, a businessman from San Francisco. A sawmill had existed near the grove since 1841, but the town of Felton and the railroad had not yet been built. Welch's Big Trees resort remained in operation until Santa Cruz county purchased the resort in 1930. In 1952, the Cowell family donated the adjacent tract of land to the state. This land had been logged to support the Cowell's lime kilns.

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Compared to nearby Big Basin, Henry Cowell's grove is more lush but less redwood-dominated. Big Basin has more impressive redwoods and feels more wild, but Henry Cowell is still a good place to appreciate an old-growth forest, especially since the grove acts as a gateway to the San Lorenzo River and second-growth forest hikes. Although some of the second-growth areas of the park are quite pleasant, passing through the big redwoods on your way back will nonetheless make you appreciate the grandeur and the special beauty of old growth forests.

Redwood Grove Loop Trail

Just across the railroad tracks from the Redwood Grove Loop Trail is the little-known Indian Creek Nature Trail. About a quarter-mile of this bumpy dirt road passes through old-growth redwoods (the other, rather unspectacular, quarter-mile connects to the Roaring Camp train station). These redwoods are owned by the Cowell Foundation and were part of Welch's Big Trees resort until the railroad split the old-growth grove in two. The redwoods are more dominant here and the tanoak understory is not as dense.

Finally, there's a small grove of old-growth redwoods in the Roaring Camp area. From the pathway that connects the Henry Cowell parking lot to Roaring Camp, walk directly east along the gravel path for about 100 yards, crossing the tracks to reach a picnic area under a dense forest. From here, an unmarked trail leads uphill for a few yards through some large redwoods.

Redwood Grove Loop Trail

 

© 2006 David Baselt