A mile up an unpaved road off Highway 1, past Salt Point, a second-growth redwood forest hides a grove of native rhododendrons.
How it got here
The land was part of a ranch established in 1880 to log old-growth trees, collect tan oak bark for tanning leather, and graze sheep, according to Wikipedia. Edward P. Kruse donated it to the state in 1933 as a memorial to his father, a founder of San Francisco's German Bank. After a wildfire, the forest that grew back included a grove of Rhododendron macrophyllum, whose pink blossoms became a tourist attraction. When tan oaks began shading out the rhododendrons, State Parks started thinning them in 1979 to slow natural succession.
Visiting
The reserve covers 317 acres at the north edge of Salt Point State Park, about 20 miles north of Jenner. Wikipedia says the rhododendrons bloom from mid-April to mid-June. State Parks says the reserve has more than 2 miles of hiking trails and that dogs are allowed. To get there, take Highway 1 about 21 miles north from Jenner to Kruse Ranch Road, then go east about 1 mile. Wikipedia notes the small parking lot can't handle buses or trailers. State Parks describes the trails as winding through a quiet forest with carpets of ferns.