Description
This guided hike within the Willow Creek Addition to Sonoma Coast State Park can involve up to four participants, last up to four hours and will be suited to participants at any level of fitness. Weather would play a part in your choice of trails and timing.
You will be accompanied by Laura Morgan, author of Three Jewels: a Field Guide to Three West Sonoma County Trail Systems, a guide to the Sonoma Coast and Austin Creek State Recreation Area. She is also the author of a forthcoming trail and field guide for the Willow Creek Unit, which will be another gift to Stewards.
Willow Creek is an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area with anadromous fish and other endangered species present. Thus no dogs are allowed in the Willow Creek Addition.
This adventure will be tailored to the interests and abilities of the winning bidder. The winner can choose from five main routes in Willow Creek:
(1) One of Laura?s favorites goes from Freezeout Road to the Full Monty Trail, with a visit to the California nutmeg grove and Badger Hill viewpoint. This hike covers the northern part of the area, and is filled with spectacular vistas. The trip back to Freezeout Road can be taken via a variety of trails, with lengths ranging from 4 to 7 miles.
(2) The trip from the Coleman Valley Road entrance goes northeast to Champagne Point via a short but sweet, gently rolling mostly wooded trail. It ends at a beautiful viewpoint over the watershed (weather permitting). About 2.5 miles.
(3) The bigger loop accessed at Coleman Valley travels to the west, all the way down to Willow Creek via Hunters Camp and then back up the Creekside Connector trail. A wide variety of plants in various ecozones can be seen there. That?s 7 miles with an elevation gain of about 800?.
(4) Approaching Willow Creek from the eastern end of Willow Creek Road (closest to Occidental) one hikes on a former logging road that offers spectacular views for the first two miles. When the road ducks into the forest, there?s the option of going out and back on Jamboree Trail, with lots of botanical interest (though no views). For the hardiest, the hike can continue down to the Bypass and Upper Barn Trails to see the southern-most group of Grand Firs in the state. This would then connect to trails to Freezeout Road, with a second car parked at Freezeout. This would allow a through-hike of approximately 8 miles with an elevation gain of 900?.
(5) From the western end of Willow Creek Road (at Bridgehaven), hikers can also access the Lower Old Barn Trail, leading up to Badger Hill and Islands in the Sky. That?s approximately 7 miles of fabulous views and a wide variety of plant zones with an elevation gain of about 900?. With luck you?d see the resident cougar.
The winner will contact Laura via email (Thesquig@yahoo.com) to set a mutually convenient time for the hike. Discussion of alternate routes will follow (510 926 0351).
Item Special Note
If the gift certificate is not picked up at the Stewards office by August 14 2022, it will be mailed to the address provided. If no address has been provided, the sale will be void within 30 days of the auction's closing, the winner may treat their bid as a tax-deductible donation to Stewards, and the hike will be resold at a future auction.