 Montgomery Woods
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Hike description
The trail starts off as a mundane dirt road that passes by an outhouse and a few picnic tables, which are the only facilities to be found in the reserve. After ascending for a third of a mile through a valley alongside a burbling creek, the road reaches a narrow spot in the valley, where it crests and then descends slightly to Montgomery Flat. At this point, the forest changes dramatically, from nice but rather ordinary redwood uplands into a classic, cathedral-like alluvial flat forest. The flat is in a little glen, almost a canyon, with sides that rise steeply and abruptly, giving it an isolated feeling. Coming over that rise is definitely a dramatic moment; you have the sense of entering a sheltered enclave. The trail passes a large area where the ground cover has been worn away by foot traffic. Although it's hard to see, this is actually a trail intersection and is both the beginning and end of the loop trail. The loop trail winds around the perimeter of the alluvial flat, sometimes elevated above the flat, which is marshy in places. The ground cover here is an especially plush carpet of sorrel with large ferns. In places the ferns dominate, indicating that the valley is well-watered. Montgomery Creek burbles quietly. During the rainy season, water flows in an overflow channel near this part of the trail. Unusually for an alluvial flat creek, this channel is fairly small and is not depressed below ground level. This makes it especially scenic, since it runs right next to the redwoods and the trail.
Montgomery Creek Look for the Kellieowen Grove plaque to your right. From this point, an apparently official spur trail leads a short distance into a side valley. It's worth going about a hundred yards on this trail as there is a nice group of trees and a little creek. Further into the valley, the trees become smaller and the trail peters out. Past the Kellieowen Grove, the trail becomes more scenic as it winds over a gentle rise and alongside the creek. A long footbridge built on a fallen tree marks the halfway point and crosses the marshy center of the flat. The spur trail to the right leads to a logged area and is not worth exploring. The main loop trail works its way back, now on the other side of the flat, past some impressive groups of trees. The ground rises steeply to the right, making a fern-encrusted wall. After a short boardwalk, the trail crosses back over the creek and then ends at the Y intersection with the dirt road to the parking lot. A few short (unofficial?) spur trails to the right lead to the creek.
Spur trail, Montgomery Grove 2008 fire
The old growth grove at Montgomery Woods was one of many places burned after summer thunderstorms in June 2008 ignited forest fires throughout Northern California. Despite what the State Park website says, as of April 2009 the entire trail is open and in good condition. Fire damage is clearly noticable along a 0.3-mile-long stretch of the trail on the south side of the grove (between the two side canyons), with the worst damage concentrated near the Kellieowen Grove. The north side of the grove looks almost the same as it did before the fire except that the ground cover is much sparser than it used to be, so the grove doesn't look as lush. It's not clear whether this is because of the fire or because of low rainfall over the past few years.
Fire damage near the Kellieowen Grove (April 2009) New acquisition |
