Our Mission

Henry Cowell The mission of California State Parks is

Redwoods
to provide for the health, inspiration and
education of the people of California by helping
to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological
This lush redwood
diversity, protecting its most valued natural and forest, with sun
cultural resources, and creating opportunities
State Park for high-quality outdoor recreation. glimmering through
trees along the San
Lorenzo River,
California State Parks supports equal access. offers visitors
Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who
need assistance should contact the park at a peaceful retreat.
(831) 335-4598. This publication can be
made available in alternate formats. Contact
interp@parks.ca.gov or call (916) 654-2249.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
For information call: (800) 777-0369.
(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.
711, TTY relay service
www.parks.ca.gov
Discover the many states of California.™

SaveTheRedwoods.org/csp

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Day Use: 101 North Big Trees Park Road
Felton, CA 95018 (831) 335-4598
Campground: 2591 Graham Hill Road
Scotts Valley, CA 95060 (831) 438-2396
© 2011 California State Parks (Rev. 2013)
H enry Cowell Redwoods State Park
inspires calm reflection among ancient
giant redwoods and sunny sandhill ridges.
The park’s historical significance and its
spectacular scenery draw travelers from all
around the world.
Visitors can enjoy hiking, horseback
riding, picnicking, swimming, camping and
fishing on more than 4,650 acres of forested
and open land in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The park’s groves of old- and second-
growth redwoods flank the San Lorenzo
River. In the serene Fall Creek Unit, a
few miles north of the main park, hikers
experience a verdant, fern-lined river
canyon and encounter the remnants of a
successful lime-processing industry.
PARK HISTORY
Native People
The Sayante tribe, a subgroup of the Ohlone
culture, lived in this area before Spanish
rule. They found plentiful shelter, water and
food both on the land and in the river. The
San Lorenzo River was a major source of
fish for the Sayante people, allowing them
to exchange steelhead and salmon with
neighboring tribes for acorns, obsidian and
other resources.
Early Entrepreneurs
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is
located on a former land grant. First owner
Pedro Sainsevain acquired this land around
1846 and went into the lumber business. He
built a lumber mill near the park’s present-
day picnic area. Known as “Rancho Rincon,”
the land included a large, old-growth
redwood forest. Over the years, this tract
changed ownership many times. Much of the
General Frémont tree: (left to right) General
surrounding land was logged, but the giant John C. Frémont, his wife Jessie Benton
trees in the grove were never cut. Frémont and their daughter Elizabeth
In 1867 Joseph Warren Welch bought
350 acres, including the 40-acre virgin Lieutenant John C. Frémont was reputed
redwood stand now known as the park’s to have camped in this tree’s fire-hollowed
Redwood Grove. Welch built an elaborate base during an 1846 expedition to survey
vacation resort in 1868, naming it the “Big the shortest route between the Atlantic
Trees Grove.” The ancient trees attracted and Pacific oceans. When the tree was
dignitaries from around the world, including dedicated to him in 1888, then-General
Frémont was reported to have said, “It
makes a great story; let it stand.”

Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and
Benjamin Harrison.
Fall Creek and Henry Cowell
Fall Creek Unit, the northern section of
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, is
located about ¼ mile west of the town of
Felton. The 2,390-acre area contains nearly
the entire Fall Creek watershed, extending
southeast from Ben Lomond Mountain.
The Ben Lomond Fault runs along the
base of the mountain, exposing huge
amounts of limestone. This limestone was
formed by heat and pressure crystallizing
layers of tiny sea creature fossil remains.
Heating raw Creating the Park
limestone in kilns In 1899, a fateful afternoon in a resort called
for several days Welch’s Grove started a movement that
yielded lime used forever changed the way people regarded
in mortar and redwoods. Andrew P. Hill, a photographer and
plaster   — staples writer, was taking photographs of the coast
of the building redwoods in the grove. As he was doing so, the
industry. owner of the resort saw him and demanded
Massachusetts the glass-plate negatives. Hill refused and
native Henry Cowell left angry. Believing that these huge old
bought an interest trees should be protected for all to see, Hill
in the thriving Davis founded the Sempervirens Club.
and Jordan Lime The Big Trees Grove resort operated until
Company in 1865. 1930 when Santa Cruz County took over
Cowell renamed control, calling this land “Santa Cruz Big Trees
his venture the IXL County Park.” The hard work of advocate W.T.
Lime Company in Jeter, president of Santa Cruz County Bank,
1888. At its highest was influential in creating the county park.
demand, 80% of In the early 1950s, Samuel “Harry” Cowell
lime came from proposed combining his adjacent family-
Santa Cruz County. owned property with the county park property
Kilns were built to create a single park. Named after his
on the North Fork of father, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Fall Creek to convert the quarried rock into was dedicated in 1954. The Fall Creek Unit
usable material. Hundreds of thousands of was later deeded to the State in 1972 by the
cords of wood were burned over the years Cowell family’s foundation.
to keep the kiln fires burning  —  leaving the
Natural History
hills bare. Eventually, raw limestone and
log supplies dwindled as concerns about Geology
deforestation arose and lime processing Located in the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains,
became obsolete. The Fall Creek kilns Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park provides
closed in 1919 after nearly 70 years of full- a fascinating geologic view into the landscape.
scale operation. The San Lorenzo River flows through the park,
Today, the old IXL lime kilns can be roughly following the path of the Ben Lomond
seen along the South Fork Trail; the second- Fault. Stream erosion and fault movement are
growth redwoods nearby testify to nature’s the primary forces that have helped shape
resilience as the hillsides become forested this land.
once again.
 The northern part of the park is composed
of soft sandstone and mudstone, with fossil
evidence that it was once a shallow inland
sea, including sand dollars and shark teeth.
The southern portion of the park consists
of harder granite and schist formed from
magma. These geologic factors determine
the vast diversity of flora and fauna that
inhabit the park. Three of the park’s four main
ecosystems — redwood, riparian (streamside),
and sandhill chaparral — were shaped as a
result of these processes. The human-made
grassland is the park’s fourth main ecosystem.
Wildlife
The park’s four distinct ecosystems allow for
many wildlife viewing opportunities. Watch
for white-tailed kites and white-crowned
sparrows flying above the grasslands looking
for their next meal.
Along the San Lorenzo River, listen for
the belted kingfisher and catch a glimpse of
the great blue heron. This year-round river
is home to endangered steelhead trout,
providing a nourishing place for the fish
to spawn.
In the forest, the melody of the Pacific wren
and the clicking sounds of the dark-eyed
junco echo through the forest. Keep your eyes
peeled for banana slugs moving along the
path and Western gray squirrels leaping from
limb to limb.
The wrentit’s lilting song and the scrub
jay’s screeching calls fill the air in the
sandhill chaparral ecosystem. Two rare
endemic insect species, the endangered
Zayante band-winged grasshopper and the
Mt. Hermon June beetle, inhabit this area
of the park.
Coyotes,
bobcats,
and black-
tail deer
roam freely
throughout
the park
searching for
food, water
and shelter.
Plant
Communities
Among the world’s tallest old-growth
coast redwoods, the largest trees
surrounding the Redwood Grove Loop
Trail may be up to 280 feet (85m) tall and
1,500 years old. Plentiful rain and coastal fog
supply moisture to sustain their growth.
California bay trees, tanoaks and hazelnut
shrubs adapt to the shade beneath the
redwoods. Clover-like redwood sorrel
carpets the forest floor, along with wild
ginger, trillium and milk maids.
The nearby San Lorenzo River supports
a remarkable riparian ecosystem. Large
western sycamore, black cottonwood, white
alder and California box-elder trees offer
cooling shade for river inhabitants. The
arroyo willow stabilizes the river’s banks.
On the ridgetops of the sandhill
ecosystem, drought-tolerant plants with long
taproots flourish in the sandy soil. Here, in
one of the world’s five marine ponderosa
pine communities, ponderosa and knobcone
pines grow along the ridge tops and
surround the park’s observation deck.
Manzanita, bush poppy,
chamise, sticky monkeyflower
and ceanothus all bloom
in spring. The Ben Lomond
spineflower and Ben Lomond
buckwheat, found only in this
area, add to the distinctive
Santa Cruz sandhills ecosystem.
Native plants such as
California poppy, coyote brush
and lupine endure among
non-native grasses, thistle and
sweet pea in the grassland.
The riparian forest that once
covered this area is now
reclaiming its former territory.
Recreation
Weather changes quickly in the Santa Cruz
Mountains. Temperatures range from the upper
30s to mid-50s in winter and from the high 40s
to the 80s in summer.
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park offers
camping and a large day-use area. Limited
catch-and-release steelhead fishing attracts
anglers to the San Lorenzo River. Visit www.
dfg.ca.gov for licensing regulations, updates
and fishing restrictions.
Equestrians may use the main park trails as
posted. Bicycles are not allowed in Fall Creek
Unit. Observe all trail postings.
The privately owned Roaring Camp and Big
Trees Railroad adjoins the property outside the
main park. The train takes passengers on a rail
tour through the forested area of the park.
Camping
Sites are open seasonally. For details
and site-specific advance reservations,
call (800) 444-7275 or visit the website at
www.parks.ca.gov.
Trails:
Redwood Grove Loop Trail — Walk the
self-guided loop to view the tree named for
“Pathfinder” Lt. John C. Frémont.
Ridge Fire Road near Pine Trail — The
observation deck at one of the park’s highest
points offers vistas of the Monterey Bay.
Fall Creek Unit
Open for day use only, Fall Creek includes
almost twenty miles of connecting trails.
Parking and trailheads are marked on Felton
Empire Road off Highway 9.
ACCESSIBLE features
The Redwood Grove Loop Trail is
accessible for about three-quarters of a
mile. The campground has accessible sites
with restrooms and showers. The Visitor
Center and Mountain Parks Store are both
accessible; curbside pickup and drop-off
is recommended for people with mobility
issues. For accessibility updates, visit
http://access.parks.ca.gov.
Nearby State Parks
• Big Basin Redwoods State Park
21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek 95006
(831) 338-8860
• Wilder Ranch State Park
1401 Coast Road, Santa Cruz 95060
(831) 423-9703
This park is supported in part through the
Mountain Parks Foundation
Please Remember
525 N. Big Trees Park Road
• All natural and cultural features are Felton, CA 95018 · (831) 335-3174
protected by law; do not disturb them. www.mountainparks.org
• Camping and fires are permitted only in
designated areas.
• Dogs on a six-foot-maximum leash
are allowed only in picnic areas and
campsites and on Meadow Trail, Pipeline
Road and Graham Hill Trail.
• All pets must be attended at all times and
confined in a tent or vehicle at night.
• Except for service animals, dogs are not
permitted to use other trails, fire roads or
the Fall Creek Unit.
• Camping, bicycles, smoking and fires are
prohibited in the Fall Creek Unit.
• Stay on established trails and out of all
undeveloped areas and wildcat trails.
• Be alert for rattlesnakes and mountain
lions. Check for ticks after hiking.
• Poison oak can be identified by its
leaves—they grow
in groups of three
with gently lobed
edges. The plant
may appear as
a bush, vine, or
ground cover with
green or reddish
leaves. Many people
are allergic to its oil.
“Leaves of three—let it be.”
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Map by Eureka Cartography, Berkeley, CA