This past Saturday, my daughter and I made our maiden voyage to Roy's Redwood Preserve in Marin County. We took a 2.3-mile loop through the park through a variety of ecosystems.
The park is a kid-friendly place overall, but the loop is not appropriate for a stroller. I unfortunately brought my daughter's stroller for the hike, assuming that with only 600' of elevation gain that it would be ok for me to push her stroller along. It is quite clear that the trails are getting damaged from water erosion during the rainy winter season: there is a trench-like gutter forming in the middle of the trails along the northern end of the loop that makes it impossible to push a child safely in a stroller. Luckily my daughter was able to walk the entire way uphill. The trail started to level out after the intersection with the David Hansen Trail, but she kept walking downhill, almost all the way to the intersection with the Spirit Rock Trail. There, the mostly flat trail was made of compacted gravel, so it was appropriate for her stroller. If we return as a family, then I will bring her toddler carrier backpack instead. I saw a number of other families doing this, and the trail is short enough that I think I could handle the extra weight. But also, just playing in the redwoods along the unofficial trails adjacent to the Meadow Trail would be fun. Overall, it really is a good park for kids. Also: the park's website says that there is no restroom, but there is a portable restroom right next to the parking area, along with hand-washing stations.
The loop was really pretty because of the different ecosystems. The northern side of the loop was more open and grassy as you climbed the hill--not quite chaparral, but almost; the eastern side was a gorgeous mixed forest of bay, Douglas Fir, and young redwoods; the southern side was in the sunny San Geronimo Valley parallel to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard; and the western side contains the grove of older redwoods along the seasonal creek. I imagine that the trails get very slick in the winter, but it would be cool to see the creek next to the redwoods filled up with water. I love it that redwoods like to get their "feet" wet. Adults who want to extend their hike and add on extra miles can connect to either Maurice Thorner Memorial or French Ranch Preserves from Roy's Redwood. Also, Roy's' Redwood has an additional trail, the Dickinson Ridge Fire Road, an in-and-out trail of 0.83 miles. I really enjoyed exploring this area, and I look forward to returning here. I was surprised that it was only an hour's drive from my home in Livermore. It's worth mentioning that all the GPS devices that I used rejected the destination when I included the apostrophe in the name. If you use a GPS to navigate to the park, then search for "Roys Redwood Preserve" with no apostrophe.
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