Learn about the history of logging in the Santa Cruz Mountains and its impact on the redwood forests on this moderately-paced hike with Docent Naturalists Alexander Hough, Ani Agahian, and Megan Elmore. You’ll travel along the Upper Pete Siemens Trail to visit the few remaining old-growth redwoods in this preserve as well as a rehabilitation site near Webb Creek. With both views, you’ll have the opportunity to reflect on the differences between the second-growth forest you see today and what the old-growth forest might have looked like before logging. (Note: This parking area can fill very quickly on weekend mornings. Please carpool and arrive early if possible.)
Meet at the Alma Parking Area. From Highway 17 take the Bear Creek Road exit, opposite Lexington Reservoir. (From southbound Hwy. 17, exit the highway and go under an overpass; road will curve right to a stop sign at Bear Creek Rd., turn left. From northbound Hwy. 17 exit highway and cross the highway via the overpass on to Bear Creek Rd.) Travel 1.0 mile from Hwy. 17 on Bear Creek Rd., as road curves left there will be a pedestrian crosswalk, turn left into the parking lot immediately after the crosswalk.