Butano State Park

After the heavy rain yesterday, Butano State Park was moist and bursting with mushrooms and banana slugs today. My College of San Mateo Class took a hike that combined a service road, Goat Hill Trail, Doe Ridge Trail, Olmo Fire Road, Goat Hill Trail, and another service road to form a scenic 5.7-mile loop. Just east of where the Doe Ridge Trail intersects the Olmo Fire Road we ascended the ridge for lunch with a view of both the Little Butano Creek watershed and the Gazos Creek watershed.

This route takes you through a lush green and shady

second-growth redwood forest and upward through Douglas fir to a sunny chaparral ridgetop.

Early on, along the park road, we enjoyed a cluster of spotted coral root, which is a saprophyte. These orchids have no greenery because they get everything they need from organic material in the soil. We then saw a spectacular display of Clintonia in full bloom. Because of the recent rain we saw lots of  mushrooms and banana slugs. We even saw one baby newt.

On top of the ridge we ate lunch among a grove of knobcone pines, which need fire in order to reproduce. We also enjoyed a flowering bush poppy. On the trail back to our starting point we enjoyed the sight of many blooming Douglas iris.

TO GET THERE... From Highway 1 take Pescadero Road east for about 3 miles (past the town of Pescadero) and turn right on Cloverdale Road. Look for the entrance to the park on the left.