Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Near the town of Felton there are two units of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Yesterday my De Anza College class enjoyed a 6.3 mile ramble through the Fall Creek unit, which is a steep, forested canyon northwest of town. The best thing about this park is Fall Creek itself. Fed by numerous springs, the creek runs cold and pure all year as it tumbles over granite and limestone on its way to the San Lorenzo River. You won't need sunscreen or hat in this shady canyon.

We started our hike at the parking lot on the north side of Felton Empire Road, a short distance west of Highway 9. We hiked downhill, past Bennett Creek to the Fall Creek Trail, which follows South Fall Creek to the lime kilns, which were built by the IXL Lime Company in 1870. Limestone, quarried from nearby Blue Cliff, was stacked into the kilns and heated to about 1700 degrees F for several days by continuously feeding redwood firewood into the arched entrances. The resulting lime was then put into barrels, which were made nearby. Lime is used to make cement and to neutralize acid soil. Nearby is the Powder Magazine, where explosive powder was stored, and just behind it is a concrete basin with a dozen or so goldfish.

From there we walked east and north on the Cape Horn Trail, which took us to our lunch stop along Fall Creek. After lunch we headed upstream on the Fall Creek Trail to the Barrel Mill Area. At this time part of the trail is gone due to a landslide. Proceed with caution. Iron equipment at the Barrel Mill Area was used to mill lumber from an upstream lumber mill into barrel staves. We then proceeded back downstream on the Fall Creek Trail which makes five bridge crossings of Fall Creek.

TO GET THERE... From Highway 9 in Felton, the main parking lot is less than a mile northwest on the Felton-Empire Road.