Project: Portola Redwoods State Park
Bear Creek Trail/Peters Creek Trail
Activities: Join us for a special workday at Portola Redwoods State Park! We’ll be working on Peters Creek trail which is normally hard to get to. Thanks to our friends at Save the Redwoods League, we’re getting access to their property, which will enable us to reach the trail much more easily. This area is exceptionally beautiful with impressive redwoods and many views of the creek. It’s also well shaded and with not too much elevation gain. We will be doing mostly brushing and scraping back vegetation to restore trail width.
Work will end in time for refreshments, the return hike and shuttle, so volunteers can be back at their cars about 3. Volunteers should plan to stay for the whole work day since it will be difficult to arrange for a lunchtime departure.
Volunteers need to bring: water, snacks and lunch, sturdy shoes (hiking boots recommended), sunscreen, precautions against poison oak exposure (long sleeved shirts and long pants). The Trail Center will provide gloves, tools and crew leaders to direct your work, and refreshments at the end of the day. Trail Center strongly recommends that all volunteers be fully vaccinated.
Directions: We will stage from Crocker Curve on Portola State Park Road. There is a gate there that leads to a private road (and trail) owned by Save the Redwoods League. There is plentiful parking along the road but carpooling is recommended. State Parks has access to the gate and has cleared access with Save the Redwoods. Volunteers will be shuttled from the gate to the trail. Once we get to the trail there’s about a .5 mile walk on the Save the Redwoods private trail, to Peters Creek Loop. The loop is about 1 mile in total with a total elevation gain of 285 feet, mostly level trail and almost entirely shaded. The trail follows the creek for a lot of the time; all in all, this is an exceptionally pleasant place to work with spectacular views and some beautiful redwoods.
