San Francisco: Transamerica Redwood Park; things to do

San Francisco

Transamerica Redwood Park  

600 Montgomery St./Merchant St.  M-F 7am-5:30pm. 

Situated on the east side of the Transamerica Pyramid building, this privately owned redwood grove is found unexpectedly in the middle of San Francisco’s skyscrapers.  Trees for the half-acre Transamerica Redwood Park grove were brought in from the Santa Cruz Mountains and transplanted in 1957.  There are now 56, and some reach 100 feet.  And who knows?  Perhaps these trees will one day be as tall as the pyramid itself.  Benches and tables offer visitors respite, but note that this urban park is locked up each night.

Transamerica Redwood Park in San Francisco's Financial District

Transamerica Redwood Park in San Francisco's Financial District

More redwoods.

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images ©2018 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Los Altos: Redwood Grove Nature Preserve; things to do

101 South

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve  

482 University Ave./Lincoln Ave., 4 mi. from Palo Alto, (650) 947-2790.  Open daylight hours.  Free. 

Tucked into a residential area, this surprising park features a redwood grove that was planted in the 1920s.  On the left of the entrance to Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, a boardwalk follows the creek through the grove, and up higher the more rustic Hillside Trail also follows the creek.  Picnic tables are available.

entrance to Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos, California

main trail at Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos, California

redwoods cluster at Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos, California

On the right of the entrance, a short trail leads to larger Shoup Park which is equipped with a creek-side party area and a children’s playground.  Approaching this area via North San Antonio Road, allows you to see many tall redwoods lining that road before you reach the small downtown of Los Altos on Main Street.  

sign to Shoup Park at Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos, California

children playing in creek at Shoup Park in Los Altos, California

playground at Shoup Park in Los Altos, California

Things to do in nearby Palo Alto.

More redwoods.

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images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Palo Alto: El Palo Alto Park; things to do

101 South

El Palo Alto Park  

117 Palo Alto Ave./Alma St.

Located four blocks north of downtown and just east of El Camino Real and the railroad tracks, narrow El Palo Alto Park hugs San Francisquito Creek.  Home to El Palo Alto, also known as The Tall Tree--the 1,000-year-old Sequoia Sempervirens, or Coast Redwood, that gave the town its name.  El Palo Alto is more than a thousand years old, stands at 110.8 feet tall, and is California Heritage Landmark #2 (still, it is a baby compared to the giant trees up north on the Avenue of Giants).  A local landmark for hundreds of years, the tree was revered by the Costanoan/Ohlone Indians.  Gaspar de Portola and his party camped beneath it in 1769, and a cross was placed here in 1774 marking the site as a possible location for a Spanish mission.  The park features a lighted pedestrian/bike pathway that connects Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

entrance to El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, California

bridge in El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, California

sign in El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, California

namesake El Palo Alto tree in El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, California

namesake El Palo Alto tree in El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, California

 
More things to do in Palo Alto. 

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images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Fort Bragg and Willits: Skunk Train; things to do

1 North and 101 North

Skunk Train   

Fort Bragg

Foot of Laurel St., (707) 964-6371.  Daily; schedule varies.  $25, 3-11 $15, infants and dogs $10/$10.  Reservations advised.  

The Skunk Train was founded in Fort Bragg in 1885 as a division of the Union Lumber Company.  The tracks are standard gauge, 4’ 8½”.  The line was extended east to harvest trees for milling and arrived in Willits in 1911.  The railroad took 26 years to build and was once used to deliver mail along the way.  The train gets its name from the fact that the original logging trains emitted unpleasant odors from their gasoline engines.  Loggers said they “could smell ‘em before they could see ‘em.”  It is an interesting factoid that the nickname and logo character was created in 1925, 3 years before Mickey Mouse arrived on the scene.  Today, a few vintage motorcars are still used in winter, but most trains are pulled by steam or diesel engines as they travel through dense redwood forest, through deep mountain tunnels, and over many bridges and trestles.  The Pudding Creek Express is a 1-hour, 7 mile round-trip excursion, turning at Glen Blair Junction. 
 

family gets ready to board Skunk Train in Fort Bragg, California

Willits

299 E. Commercial St., (707) 964-6371.  Year-round.  $84/$109, 2-12 $42/$67, infants & dogs $10/$10.  Reservations advised.  

The Northspur Flyer makes a 40-mile, 4-hour round-trip from Willits to Northspur.  The journey includes plenty of switchbacks, and you’ll go through a tunnel and see ancient groves of magnificent redwoods.  A BBQ Dinner Excursion chugs along the same route, and traveling to remote Camp Noyo to spend the night camping is also an option.  

Skunk Train depot in Willits, California

passenger boards Skunk Train in Willits, California

riding through the redwoods on Skunk Train in Willits, California

More things to do in Fort Bragg.

More things to do in Willits. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 
 
images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Muir Beach: Muir Woods National Monument; things to do

1 North

Muir Woods National Monument  

Off Hwy. 1, on Panoramic Hwy., 12 mi. N of San Francisco, in Muir Beach, (415) 388-2595.  Daily 8-sunset.  $10, under 16 free.  No pets. 

Located just off Highway 1 and enveloping 560 acres, this magnificent, fragrant old-growth redwood forest has 6 miles of level paved or boardwalk walking trails.  The easy paved Main Trail loop has interpretive exhibits, and seven more-challenging unpaved trails lead away from the crowds.  Naturalist John Muir, for whom the forest was named, said of it, "This is the best tree lover's monument that could be found in all the forests of the world."  The largest tree at Muir Woods National Monument measures 240 feet high by 16 feet wide.  Because nearly 1 million people come here each year, only a visit early or late in the day (before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.) provides the hope of some solitude; rainy days are also quiet.  And no matter what time of year it is, visitors are advised to bring along warm wraps.  The dense forest lets in very little sunlight, and the weather is usually damp, foggy, and cold.  Children ages 6 through 12 can sign up for a free Junior Ranger program at the Visitors Center when they arrive and receive a sticker badge and workbook that helps them explore nature (download a booklet ahead of time).  Picnicking is not permitted, but a simple cafe dispenses sustainable local foods.  

 
More things to do in Muir Beach.

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images courtesy of venue

Mill Valley: Old Mill Park + Mill Valley Market; things to do

101 North 

Old Mill Park  

On Throckmorton Ave./Old Mill Rd., (415) 383-1370.  Free.  Dogs permitted on leash. 

Holding the town’s namesake 1834 sawmill, pretty Old Mill Park is sheltered by redwoods and offers idyllic stream-side picnicking.  No redwoods pre-date the mill, which was built to cut up the area's old-growth trees.  Most current trees began growing after the 1860s.  It is interesting to know that the mill provided lumber for the Presidio in San Francisco.  A rustic sun-speckled playground area has picnic tables, some of which are inside a fairy-ring circle of giant second-growth redwoods (they grow around what must have been a giant 20-foot-circumference redwood).  The park is famous as the beginning point of the 7.5-mile Dipsea Trail leading to Stinson Beach.  The Dipsea Race was first held in 1905 and is considered the first significant trail race run in the U.S.

produce at Mill Valley Market in Mill Valley, California

Picnic Pick-Up

Mill Valley Market  

12 Corte Madera Ave./Throckmorton Ave., (415) 388-3222.  M-Sat 7-7:30, Sun 9-7.

Family-owned since 1929, the small but well-stocked Mill Valley Market began as a produce market but now sells everything required for a fabulous picnic.  It specializes in locally made products and even grows some of its own produce.  An extensive selection of honeys, mustards, green olives, vinegars, salad dressings, and jams are on the shelves, and a deli/bakery tucked in the back dispenses prepared salads and baked goods.  


More things to do in Mill Valley.

Even more things to do in Mill Valley. 

More top hikes from around the world.

An overnight escape to Mt. Tam.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.  
 

image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated 3-7-20

Gualala: Gualala Arts Center; things to do

1 North

Gualala Arts Center  

46501 Gualala Rd., (707) 884-1138.  Free. 

interior of Gualala Arts Center in Gualala, California

Located off a back road, this extraordinary art gallery and center is well hidden in a grove of redwoods.  The environment-friendly Gualala Arts Center;features high ceilings, tall windows with views of the redwoods, and slate floors.  Inside, two main-floor  galleries display changing shows; a clay studio is downstairs and an art library is upstairs.  Outside, the nation’s only haiku trail—like its namesake poetry style, it is short and easy--leads past poems engraved into stones, and another trail leads to the river.  Additionally, you’ll find a sculpture garden and a picnic area with pizza oven. 

On the third weekend in August, the annual Art in the Redwoods festival—which has been happening since 1961--occurs to celebrate art, food, and gardens.  Arts vendor booths, an outdoor stage, and picnics are part of the fun. 


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More ideas for exploring Northern California.

image ©2013 Carole Terwilliger Meyers