Surrounded by Ancient Giants in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (Santa Cruz, CA)
For spring break this year (what months ago I thought might be my last spring break, but surprise surprise, I’ll be pursuing a Ph.D. this fall, and there will be many more spring breaks to come), my friend Liz and I decided to do something special: a low-key trip to a place we’d never been. After some debating, we settled on Santa Cruz, CA, for its variety of available activities—hiking through Redwoods, animal-watching on the shore—and its (relatively) low bill in a state known for its high cost of living.
Since our trip was in mid-March, the weather was in the 60s most of the week—too cool for most spring breakers, but not for us Minnesotans. The town itself was pretty much tourist-free and we spent most of our time in our Airbnb in the woods or hiking, which turned out to be lucky considering the global pandemic rapidly unfolding over the course of our four and a half days in California.
If I’d known what the situation would be like when we booked our trip this past fall, I would have nixed even the idea of travel, much less to California. To be honest, if I had the information I do now a month ago, I probably would have canceled our trip. But I’m thankful that our activities were by and large social-distancing friendly. And don’t worry, for the week I’ve been home, I’ve been on a 14-day self-quarantine in my apartment, reminiscing about the Californian sun.
Mountain Charlie’s Big Tree
During the trip, we stayed at an Airbnb between Santa Cruz and Los Gatos, nestled in the middle of a Redwood grove. It was a great deal for an adorable A-frame cabin in a gorgeous setting (check it out here). Our hiking started just feet away from our Airbnb with a quick walk across the road to visit Mountain Charlie’s Big Tree, named after one of the first white settlers in the Santa Cruz Mountain area. This Sequoia Sempervirens, known as the “King of the Forest,” was originally about 390 feet high, but after part of it broke off due to a storm, it now stands at 260 feet. It is over a thousand years old, 18 feet in diameter at the base, and 60 feet in circumference. Which is giant, as you can probably tell from teeny tiny me standing against it.
We then took a leisurely stroll to admire the blooming wildflowers (so many! everywhere!), the quaint farms and horses, lulled into contentment by the hushed atmosphere of the forest. This place already felt like a dream.
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
When California was still part of Mexico, ranchos, or large land grants, were created. The park’s lands were purchased by industrialist Henry Cowell from the Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo in 1865. In 1930, California’s Lieutenant Governor William Jeter approved efforts for the County of Santa Cruz to purchase and preserve the Redwood lands adjacent to Cowell’s. Finally, in 1954, Samuel Cowell (the last of the Cowell line) donated the rest of the park to the state under the condition that the county relinquish their land to the state as well, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park was born.
We parked outside the park entrance on the main road to avoid the $10 entry fee (one day, when I’m not a poor grad student, I’ll stop looking for every way to cut corners) and hiked about a half-mile into the park. Our first destination was Redwood Grove Loop Trail. The old-growth grove of coast redwood is located entirely in the original section of the park, surrounded by many species of fern and redwood sorrel.
Coast redwoods are some of the tallest living trees, also among the oldest living things on earth. The bark is soft and fibrous, with a bright red-brown color when freshly exposed, and the tannic acid in the bark makes them naturally resistant to fungal infection, insect attack, rot, and fire. The root system is surprisingly shallow and wide, and coast redwoods can reproduce asexually by layering or sprouting from the root crown, stump, or even fallen branches of one tree. Within a short period after sprouting, each sprout develops its own root system, with the dominant sprouts forming a ring of trees around the parent root crown or stump. This ring of trees is called a “fairy ring” or a family group.
At the end of the loop is the Fremont Tree. In 1846, explorer John C. Fremont camped here while surveying the shortest route between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and legend says he slept inside the hollowed-out Fremont tree, which visitors can step inside. It’s warm and humid in the cave-like tree and almost completely dark except for the triangle of light from the entrance.
Our second stop was the Observation Deck. This hike was through completely different topography and ecology. Ancient marine deposits known as the Santa Cruz Sandhills exist here (and I can confirm a lot of the trails are sandy), and this is one of the few places you can see ponderosa pines below 3,000 feet in elevation. It’s also the only place you can see silver-leaf manzanita, Santa Cruz kangaroo rats (we were not so lucky), and Mount Hermon June beetles. This trail cuts through a particularly interesting area of controlled burning, which might sound scary considering the recent wildfires in California, but after years of complete fire suppression, these controlled fires initiated by the park are vital in rejuvenating the vegetation and eliminating dead build-up, actually protecting against catastrophic wildfires.
Once we reached the top, a manmade observation deck with what seemed like a ranger base underneath, we were greeted with expansive views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay. We ate lunch on the deck, listening to the calls and loud knocking of acorn woodpeckers.
This park made the perfect half-day excursion for us on our short trip to California, though there are many more trails to extend it to a full-day hike if you’d like. Regardless, the scenery was absolutely stunning, and I got to be dwarfed by my favorite trees in the whole world. (Next time I’m in California, I’ll have to visit Redwoods National Park!)
Up next: Wildflowers, Seals, and Pacific Cliffs in Wilder Ranch State Park!
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