Today, my little daughter and I had a glorious day in Half Moon Bay with our friends, another mom who has a young son. We went to the western portion of Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve to have a nice picnic by the creek under the redwoods. The little ones threw rocks in the water of the creek and ran or crawled under the redwoods, checking out sticks of interest and banana slugs. Then, my daughter and I went on to Half Moon Bay State Beach on our own to "say hello to the ocean" before driving back to Livermore. Redwoods and beaches? What more could anyone ask for?
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This hike is a repeat of the same one that my family did back in November of 2017 in the fantastic state park of Henry Cowell Redwood State Park. I was really glad to return because the trail was actually quite different for us this time! You never hike the same trail twice; there is always something different about your experience.
Roaring Camp is a private company that is housed right next door to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The former property that became both Roaring Camp and the state park was once one large ranch called Big Trees Ranch, which San Francisco businessman Joseph Warren Welch bought in 1867 to preserve a stunning grove of old growth trees that were in danger of being logged. Big Trees Ranch was eventually sold, part to the county of Santa Cruz (the part which eventually became the state park) and part to a man named F. Norman Clark, who had a dream to "bring the romance and color of steam railroading back to America." Clark worked with the state park to plan a line that would disturb as few trees as possible, and the railroad tracks run through the state park. This was an incredible excursion: both a train ride (which is always fun) and an adventure into the heart of the redwood forest along the steep canyon banks of the San Lorenzo River.
Even though this is one of the most popular trails in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, I have actually never done this easy, flat, 0.6-mile trail through the park's largest, most impressive old growth redwoods. I am glad to have finally done it! I didn't realize how beautiful Opal Creek is, with its eponymous opalescent waters. Between the gorgeous trees and the unusual milky water, this hike sure is memorable even if it's short.
This 6.2-mile loop through the northern portion of Redwood Regional Park was a variation on the hike that I originally intended to do--apparently there was storm damage from the rainy winter that we had, and the Stream Trail was closed from the Fern Trail to the Skyline Gate Staging Area, where I parked. But, I made do and adapted my hike. It was SO lovely. It gave me a chance to see even more variety in the types of forest along my route.
Joaquin Miller Park is a wonderful city park, managed by the City of Oakland. It's amazing to me how lush and remote the park feels when it is so close to such a major urban area. I went on a 4.4-mile lollipop trail that took me on a pretty thorough tour of this park. Click "read more" below to see more details of the hike and more photos from the day's adventure.
It's been a minute since I've been to Tilden Park, and this weekend I went for the first time to the Tilden Nature Area. This part of the park is an awesome place to bring young children--not only for the charming Little Farm but also for a gentle 1.28-mile loop that is stroller accessible.
It's been an uncharacteristically wet/cold week for May. I decided to take advantage of the lingering spring to explore more of Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore. When I explored the Valley View Loop last Tuesday, I said that I wanted to explore the area around the Arroyo Del Valle connector trail between Del Valle park and Sycamore Grove. On this hike, I did just that!
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