Some of the redwoods in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park were already old when California was still Mexico. California State Parks says the tallest tree in the park is about 277 feet tall, about 16 feet wide and around 1,500 years old. The grove that holds it is the reason visitors come from around the world.

The Redwood Grove

The park's old-growth grove covers about 40 acres. State Parks says the trees were admired by explorer John C. Frémont and President Theodore Roosevelt and inspired some of California's earliest redwood preservation efforts. Locals call the flat, self-guided walk through it "the loop." Along the way you'll pass the John C. Fremont tree, a redwood hollowed out by fire, and a tree with albino growth.

Near the entrance kiosk, all three kinds of redwood trees are planted side by side: the native coast redwood, the giant sequoia and the dawn redwood from China. It's an easy way to compare them.

Beyond the big trees

The park covers more than 4,650 acres, according to State Parks, with four distinct habitats: grasslands, river, sandhills and redwoods. The main unit has more than 15 miles of trails, some leading to small sandy beaches on the San Lorenzo River. Watch for banana slugs, black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats and steelhead trout.

The Santa Cruz Sandhills found here are rare ancient marine deposits that support endangered plants and animals.

Fall Creek Unit

A few miles north, the separate Fall Creek Unit is a second-growth redwood forest with a fern-lined canyon and nearly 20 miles of trails. It's day-use only, with parking and trailheads on Felton Empire Road off Highway 9. Along Fall Creek are the ruins of a 19th-century lime operation, including a quarry and kilns built by the I.X.L. Lime Company, which was founded in 1874 and later acquired by industrialist Henry Cowell. Dogs and bikes aren't allowed in the Fall Creek Unit.

A little history

Henry Cowell bought 6,500 acres of former rancho land here in 1865, and redwood and lime from the area went into many San Francisco buildings. His son Samuel Cowell, the last of the family line, later donated land to the state on the condition that Santa Cruz County also hand over its nearby Big Trees Park so the two could be managed together. The state park was officially created on Aug. 15, 1954.

Plan your visit

The park is open sunrise to sunset, and the visitor center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The campground sits in a separate area off Graham Hill Road east of Felton. Next to the main parking lot is Roaring Camp, whose steam trains run through the redwoods. The Garden of Eden, a popular swimming hole on the San Lorenzo River reached via Ox Fire Road off Highway 9, has large, sharp rocks on the bottom, so diving is not allowed.