Purisima Creek Redwoods
Open Space Preserve
Jewel of the Midpeninsula preserves
The descent into Whittemore Gulch
This very popular park stretches west from Skyline Ridge towards the rolling grasslands outside Half Moon Bay. Although it's just across the ridge from the numerous preserves outside Woodside and Palo Alto, Purisima Creek's scenery is a whole lot better - the woods are much more attractive, the open hilltops have dramatic vistas of redwood-filled canyons below, and the park seems more wild and expansive. Being near the coast, the park's redwood canyons are refreshingly cool in the summer and make a great getaway from the Bay Area's heat. As you climb up toward the ridge, though, it starts to get hot.
Despite its name, Purisima Creek Redwoods doesn't have any old-growth redwoods; its two canyons are instead filled with small to mid-sized second-growth redwoods. Especially on the Soda Gulch Trail, however, the redwoods have regrown well and offer some pretty nice scenery.
The park has an extensive system of well-maintained trails and fire roads. Mountain biking and horseback riding are allowed on most trails. Poison oak is found throughout the park and is most common in the sunny coastal scrub along the upper Whittemore Gulch Trail.
Click map to show all roads and trails
Part of the Bay Area Trail Map, Half Moon Bay to Los Altos Hills (Redwood Hikes Press, 2010)
This loop has a particularly nice combination of shady redwood canyons and open hilltops with scenic views. Extending from the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains almost up to Skyline Ridge, the hike feels like it has a lot of climbing, but in fact the elevation gain is a relatively modest 1600 feet.
It's most enjoyable to start the loop from the lower trailhead off Higgins Purisima Road, but it's also possible to start from a trailhead on Skyline Boulevard that's a lot easier to get to. Highway 92 to Half Moon Bay is extremely congested on summer days and the little parking lot at the lower trailhead fills up quickly.
The Purisima Creek Trail starts as a flat and easy stroll through a cool, shady second-growth redwood forest. A burbling creek keeps you company as the trail gradually gets steeper.
Second-growth redwoods in Soda Gulch
Turn onto the singletrack Soda Gulch Trail, which has the hike's best woodlands. The trail, cut into a steep hillside high above a creek, winds around a lush ravine densely covered with redwood sorrel. For a second-growth forest, there are some pretty impressive views of tall straight redwoods rising into the sky on the other side of the canyon. The trail winds around a second, larger ravine and then breaks out into patchy oak woodland. It finally climbs into sunny coastal scrub with some nice views of the redwood-covered hills to the south.
When the trail ends at the Harkins Ridge Trail, turn right and continue climbing. This is the steepest part of the hike, but it also has some some really exceptional views of the chaparral-covered hills and the glittering blue ocean to the north. The climbing ends as you turn left onto the singletrack portion of the trail. There's a small but exhausting climb to the highest point of the hike, which is at the intersection with the North Ridge Trail.
The Soda Gulch Trail breaks out of the redwoods
Turn left and begin descending the North Ridge Trail. One of the characteristic features of this area is that each hilltop has a little patch of (non-redwood) forest on it. The North Ridge Trail descends through one of these surprisingly lush hilltop patches. There are some really impressive spruce trees here; it's hard to tell but the entire wood may be old-growth. There's some traffic noise from Skyline Boulevard, with the occasional distant roar of a motorcycle.
Turn left on the Whittemore Gulch Trail, which emerges from the woods to descend through poison oak-infested coastal scrub with some of the most scenic views of the hike, the redwood-covered valley below extending toward the ocean in the distance. The trail soon descends into the refreshingly cool forest. It's heavily-used by mountain bikers and has the smooth, overly-worn look common to such trails.
As you descend into the redwoods, you'll see a few moderately-sized redwoods that might be old growth. The trail broadens into a dirt road as in drops into the lower gulch, which is not as nice as the upper portions of the trail.
View from the Harkins Ridge Trail
© 2010 David Baselt
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