Trade the couch for a canyon! Step into a redwood forest during its wettest, greenest season, where the climb warms you quickly and everything is awake: banana slugs on the move, mushrooms popping up overnight, and, if you're lucky, a strange looking flower called fetid adder's tongue. Join Docent Naturalists Catherine Xun, Susan Dunn, and Nancy Weintraub for this exercise-focused, moderately-paced, out-and-back hike with about 1,150 feet of elevation gain. Your route will encompass the Bald Knob Trail and down Irish Ridge to the "elbow tree," an old-growth redwood that took an injury and kept growing, before the climb back to the road. Hiking poles are strongly recommended and bring a lunch. Reservations are required and will be accepted on or after February 1 at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) and close February 12 at 2:00 p.m.
Meet at roadside parking located on Tunitas Creek Road. From CA-35/Skyline Boulevard, head west on Tunitas Creek Rd. for 2.2 miles (this is just opposite from Kings Mountain Rd.); your destination will be on the right. From Highway 1, turn right onto Tunitas Creek Road (3 miles north of Highway 84). Follow for 7.1 miles to your destination on the left. (Note: This route from the coast takes about 25 minutes from the junction with Highway 84.)