Sam McDonald County Park

There are two entrances to Sam McDonald County Park. The hike I took starts at the Heritage Grove Trailhead near some gorgeous, old growth redwoods and climbs up steadily for about a mile to a Hiker's Hut maintained by the Sierra Club. You can access this parking lot off of Alpine road. The main entrance of the park, on Pescadero Road, is a fee area, so bring $6 cash if you want to park there.

The hike around the big redwoods is really flat. My mom has pretty bad knees, and even she was fine strolling around. The hike up to the hut is pretty steep, but it's beautiful and in June there are lots of forget-me-nots blooming in the forest and poppies blooming in the grassy area once you get up to the top of the ridge. This is a lovely hike!

Encore trip to the park, with a new hike (read here and also here).