Located deep within the depths of the Santa Cruz Mountains in a quiet and rarely visited area lies Sam McDonald Park. While you may not have heard of it, Sam McDonald is a hidden gem. Outshined by its larger and more famous neighbors like Big Basin and Henry Cowell, Sam McDonald benefits from smaller crowds, quieter trails, and a more serene experience!
One of the best hikes in the park, The Heritage Grove Loop, takes you through the varied environments of the park, including old growth Redwood forest! This is one of the few places I have been where you really can have a quiet and peaceful visit to the Redwoods. Beyond the Redwoods are open meadows, ridges, and leafy forest, and you are likely to have it all almost to yourself on the Heritage Grove Loop!
Miles/Elevation:
4.1 miles
900 feet vertical gain
About Sam McDonald Park:
At just 867 acres, Sam McDonald County Park isn’t the biggest park in the world, but it makes up for it with solitude and beauty. Situated between and connected to a multitude of other nearby awesome parks, including Memorial County Park, Pescadero Creek Park, Portola Redwoods State Park, and a series of open space preserves, Sam McDonald may be the forgotten one of the bunch!
With old growth Redwood forests and open ridgelines, this park has all of what you expect of a Santa Cruz Mountain park, but with far fewer visitors. Not only does it have all the scenes of those parks, but the trails here actually connect to a huge series of trails that will take you to them and beyond!
One notable feature of the park is the Hikers Hut run by the Sierra Club. Located in the midst of the park on a secluded hillside, the Hikers Hut can be reserved and used as a fun place for an afternoon, or as an overnight getaway! See the Sierra Club website for more information.
There is a $6 fee for parking in the park’s lot.
Getting to Sam McDonald Park:
Located in the depths of the Santa Cruz Mountains near La Honda, Sam McDonald County Park is about as isolated as it gets in the Bay Area. To access the park, you will take highway 84 towards La Honda, and then turn off onto Pescadero Creek Road. Alternatively, you may descend Alpine Road and access the park from that direction, though Alpine Road is very steep and narrow! The park is about a 45 minute drive from San Jose and a 55 minute drive from San Francisco.
Heritage Grove Loop Trail
Towne Fire Road:
After paying the parking fee at the lot, you can choose to either begin your hike on the Towne Fire Road or the Heritage Grove Trail. I personally like to do the bulk of my climbing at the start of a hike, so I chose to begin with the Towne Fire Road.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
Even before leaving the parking lot, you’ll be under some massive trees, and leaving the parking lot you’ll walk beneath some true giants! These are some of the biggest trees in the park, so definitely enjoy it!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
After leaving the parking lot, the fire road which you are on will quickly begin to climb, quite steeply. One of the things I hate about hiking on fire roads is how they just blaze a trail straight up hills, and this one is no exception. The trail here basically climbs straight up the hillside, and it’ll make you breathe a little bit!
Even though it’s steep, this is a beautiful section of trail, so even though you’ll be breathing hard, you’ll enjoy it! As you climb, the forest will begin to thin as the biggest Redwoods prefer the valleys not the ridges. Eventually, you will emerge into an open meadow and leave the Redwoods behind!
Hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Be sure to check out Castle Rock State Park!
Once you are in the meadow, you have arrived at the ridge which you will be hiking on for the next section of trail. The trail is still a fireroad, but it really levels out here, though there is still a slight incline. On your left you will pass the horse camp, something that doesn’t really apply to hikers!
Check out nearby Bear Creek Redwoods too!
Eventually, you will come to an intersection. The Towne Fire Road will continue straight, the Heritage Grove Trail takes a hard left, and a sign to the hikers hut points forward. I got lost here.
If you don’t care about stopping at the hikers hut, just turn left onto the Heritage Grove Trail, but I personally at least wanted to see what it looked like. The sign to the hikers hut points straight, so I continued along the fire road. That was a mistake.
Views from the highpoint of the day!
To get to the hikers hut on the shortest route, there is actually a faint single track trail that follows the fire road for maybe 100 feet and then veers left into the trees. Taking that will take at least a quarter of a mile off your hike compared to the fire road, but if you want the fire road actually provides some pretty nice views when you continue hiking!
Hikers Hut:
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I saw there was a hikers hut on the map, so I had to check it out! When you get there, it’s a pretty simple structure with a large deck on the front of the building with big glass doors and walls heading onto the deck. Looking inside, there is some furniture, books, a guitar, as well as a kitchen and some stairs heading upstairs.
The hut is reservable, and can be used for overnight visits. Again, check out the Sierra Club’s website for more information!
Heritage Grove Trail:
After leaving the hikers hut, take the single track trail back to the intersection and turn onto the Heritage Grove Trail. The trail almost immediately leaves the open meadow of the ridge and heads into the forest.
Purisima Creek Redwoods has more awesome Redwood hikes!
Initially, the forest is leafy as you might expect higher up on the ridge-lines. The leafy forest here is quite pretty to hike through, and it should be super quiet!
Visit Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park for more great Redwood hikes!
It doesn’t take long however to get back into the Redwoods. Initially, the trees will be smaller and much thinner than the giants you saw earlier. Redwoods grow best in valleys a little way from streams, so hillsides and hilltops really aren’t an ideal place to find big trees. Eventually however, you’ll enter back into the depths of the forest!
Once you’re back into the Redwood Forest, you’ll need to turn left to continue back to the parking area. If you continue straight, you’ll run into a road which you did not park at!
The trail from this point on is a classic walk through the woods. The trees here aren’t the giants that you might expect to see, and they don’t really compare to what you would find in the state parks, or even at the parking lot, but if what you’re looking for is a quiet walk through a quiet and tranquil Redwood forest, there aren’t many better options in the Bay Area!
After a short hike of just under 2 miles through the forest, you’ll find yourself back at the parking lot. From here, there are a couple other trails you could explore if you’re interested, or you can call it a day. Either way, you’ll have had a nice, relatively quiet, hike through the Redwoods!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 7/10
Overall, this is not the most spectacular hike in terms of big views, and it is not the best Redwood hike for big trees. However, if what you are looking for is quiet walk through the Redwoods away from the crowds, this might be exactly what you are looking for. Add in a nice walk through a ridgetop meadow and this is a very nice hike!
Pros:
- Quiet and lightly trafficked
- Old growth Redwoods
- Access to hikers hut
Cons:
- A lot of fire road hiking
- Best trees are near the start
Alternative Hikes:
Hiking to the Peters Creek Grove in Portola Redwoods State Park
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve Loop
Trip Report: North Ridge Trail, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
Old Stage Road, Uncle Man Road, and Youth Camp Trail
When to Visit Sam McDonald Park:
Sam McDonald County Park really is a 4 season destination. In summer, you can expect to sweat on exposed sections of trails, and to be comfortable on the shaded sections. During winter, expect to be cool in the shaded areas, and still warm in exposed sections. Rain is most likely in winter and spring.
Links For Further Reading:
Best trails in Sam Mcdonald County Park, California
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