Roy's Redwoods

click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Now, just because it's called Roy's Redwoods doesn't mean it's still owned by some guy named Roy (((Roy was his last name in the 1860's by the way))). These days ANYONE can visit -- the meadow -- the tall redwoods -- and anyone can hike the challenging trails. No charge (((unless you want to send me a dollar))). Not a lot of people -- it's wild and totally isolated from the cities over the hill.

But only certain "locals" seem to know about the place -- and they usually learn of the place from friends or family. It's a bit of beauty people pass on.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

A few years ago (((and I did this almost each day for almost two years, almost religiously))) I hiked to the top of the hill at Roy's Redwoods. It really IS a measure of endurance to be able to clamber up that steep trail, and it was a lot easier when I made the effort almost everyday.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

One of the great things about clambering up and down the trails at Roy's Redwoods is the opportunity to discover interesting patterns, like this decaying oak log, during rest-stops.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

In another few days this stream -- this one is on the east border -- will slow to a trickle. But for now this water will join with the San Geronimo Creek, and then into the Lagunitas Creek on it's journey to Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean, about 15 miles away.

to quote the online Encyclopedia Brittanica:

Tucked into West Marin's San Geronimo Valley, just a few hundred feet from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, you'll find a meadow circled by bay trees, madrones, and enormous old-growth redwoods--some of them 250 feet tall. This is Roy's Redwoods preserve, a 377-acre park that's been home to a ranch, a commune, and even Ewoks for a 1984 George Lucas TV movie.

Old-growth redwoods are rare in the Bay Area, so these trees are special. While some trees at Muir Woods are over 1,000 years old, the oldest trees at Roy's have lived a mere 400 to 500 years. But it's hard to say how old a redwood is: New trees, clones of their parents, sprout from an older tree's trunk, eventually leaving distinctive family rings. At Roy's Redwoods, 200-foot giants encircle spaces that once held their parents.

Past the redwood grove, follow the 2.5-mile Roy's Redwoods Loop Trail through sunny areas dotted with coast live oaks, then descend through a damp, thickly forested canyon. The trail opens up at the base of a hill, passing the San Geronimo Golf Course. Roy's Nature Trail spurs off the main loop trail just beyond the redwood grove... [[[that's where the first photo was shot]]] [[[and they call it a "Nature Trail", and it is, but there are no signs explaining what everything is]]]

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