La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve

The final field trip for the Spring session of my Foothill College class took us to the northern part of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve, which is the only part of the preserve that is currently open to the public. To visit this area you must get a special permit from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District that includes the combination to the padlock to the gate at the entrance to the preserve.

First, we walked past a small private inholding that includes the house of the former owner of the property that we were about to explore. We then found the pathway that leads downhill to a large old-growth redwood, which is the only ancient giant left in the area. It was spared because it was the favorite tree of a former owner. We then headed back uphill and on to a faint trail that takes us to a grassy meadow with beautiful views of the mountains, forests, and ocean to the west. We saw lots of beautiful clusters of Douglas Iris, in various shades of blue.

On the way downhill through the meadow, I handed out filaree seeds to some of the students so they could observe how the seeds coil into tight corkscrewsringneck snake, which also obviously didn't appreciate our attention.

when exposed to body heat. At the bottom of the meadow, at an oak grove, I picked up a piece of sheet metal and found a mouse who didn't appreciate being so rudely interrupted. Under another piece of sheet metal we saw a beautiful

We paused for lunch in the shade of an oak tree and then I passed around a can of my bay nut brownies, made with the flavorful nut of the California Bay Laurel, which can be collected in October and November. The rest of the hike involved ascending an old ranch road and returning  to our cars.

TO GET THERE... From Skyline Boulevard, take Bear Gulch Road west and turn right on Allen Road (Private) to the locked gate. You need a permit to access this preserve.