Topher Simon Topher permitted in trail camps. trail in permitted water is available at trail camps. Backpack stoves are are stoves Backpack camps. trail at available is water who register with the ranger at Memorial Park. No No Park. Memorial at ranger the with register who snakes, and banana slugs. banana and snakes, available for a fee on a drop-in basis for backpackers backpackers for basis drop-in a on fee a for available woodpeckers, Steller’s jays, garter snakes, gopher gopher snakes, garter jays, Steller’s woodpeckers, hikes passing through multiple parks. multiple through passing hikes Trail camps camps Trail at Shaw Flat and Tarwater Flat are are Flat Tarwater and Flat Shaw at tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, foxes, bobcats, bobcats, foxes, opossums, raccoons, deer, tailed State Park, offering the opportunity for several long long several for opportunity the offering Park, State Common wildlife in Sam McDonald includes black- includes McDonald Sam in wildlife Common Trailheads. The trail network also connects to Big Basin Redwoods Redwoods Basin Big to connects also network trail The State Park, and at the Old Haul Road and Tarwater Tarwater and Road Haul Old the at and Park, State leaf maple, and oak trees. oak and maple, leaf a number of trails with Portola Redwoods State Park Park State Redwoods Portola with trails of number a Ranger Station, Portola Trailhead, Portola Redwoods Redwoods Portola Trailhead, Portola Station, Ranger Douglas fir, madrone, California laurel, buckeye, big big buckeye, laurel, California madrone, fir, Douglas Pescadero Creek Park shares its eastern boundary and and boundary eastern its shares Park Creek Pescadero inter-park trail network trail inter-park from the Sam McDonald McDonald Sam the from The forests, dominated by coast redwood, also include include also redwood, coast by dominated forests, The rugged beauty offers a true escape. true a offers beauty rugged cyclists, and equestrians can access an extensive an access can equestrians and cyclists, monkeyflower, wood rose, and sun cup. sun and rose, wood monkeyflower, This park has the County system’s only trail camps. Its Its camps. trail only system’s County the has park This This park is largely undeveloped wilderness. Hikers, Hikers, wilderness. undeveloped largely is park This each spring with colorful wildflowers such as sticky sticky as such wildflowers colorful with spring each Activities and facilities and Activities road, Old Haul Road, which crosses the Park. Park. the crosses which Road, Haul Old road, elevations; the higher-elevation knolls are covered covered are knolls higher-elevation the elevations; camp store camp (open seasonally) offers offers seasonally) (open a entrance, for hikers and equestrians. Cyclists may use a service service a use may Cyclists equestrians. and hikers for and other shade-loving plants are found in the lower lower the in found are plants shade-loving other and picnicking and youth group activities. Near the park park the Near activities. group youth and picnicking largest park. Its wilderness includes miles of trails trails of miles includes wilderness Its park. largest and the occasional coyote and mountain lion. lion. mountain and coyote occasional the and Much of Sam McDonald Park is very steep. Ferns Ferns steep. very is Park McDonald Sam of Much Memorial County Park is open year-round for camping, camping, for year-round open is Park County Memorial With 5,700 acres, Pescadero is by far the County’s County’s the far by is Pescadero acres, 5,700 With are black-tailed deer, raccoons, western gray squirrels, squirrels, gray western raccoons, deer, black-tailed are Natural features Natural wonderful panoramic views. panoramic wonderful Pescadero Creek County Park County Creek Pescadero secretive seabird, nests in the Park. More easily seen seen easily More Park. the in nests seabird, secretive area. The western loop of the Pomponio Trail provides provides Trail Pomponio the of loop western The area. The endangered marbled murrelet, a small and and small a murrelet, marbled endangered The 37-acre preserve of old-growth redwood forest. redwood old-growth of preserve 37-acre a short interpretive loop through the Park’s northern northern Park’s the through loop interpretive short a has a small run of endangered Coho salmon. Coho endangered of run small a has Adjacent to McDonald, Heritage Grove is a stunning stunning a is Grove Heritage McDonald, to Adjacent habitats. The self-guided Mt. Ellen Nature Trail offers offers Trail Nature Ellen Mt. self-guided The habitats. habitat for endangered steelhead; Pescadero Creek also also Creek Pescadero steelhead; endangered for habitat off of Alpine Road, accessible from Pescadero Road. Pescadero from accessible Road, Alpine of off trails lead through a diversity of of diversity a through lead hiking of Miles camps, an equestrian camp, and a hiker’s hut. hiker’s a and camp, equestrian an camps, Pescadero and Alpine Creeks both provide spawning spawning provide both Creeks Alpine and Pescadero can also be admired from vehicles in the parking lot lot parking the in vehicles from admired be also can Activities and facilities and Activities Ocean. The Park, some 850 acres, includes youth youth includes acres, 850 some Park, The Ocean. connects with other trails in the complex. The Grove Grove The complex. the in trails other with connects Jones Gulch Creek, staining the rocks. rocks. the staining Creek, Gulch Jones redwood forests and a ridge with vistas of the Pacific Pacific the of vistas with ridge a and forests redwood the redwoods. Heritage Grove Trail, open only to hikers, hikers, to only open Trail, Grove Heritage redwoods. the Crude oil pools up in Tarwater Creek and seeps into into seeps and Creek Tarwater in up pools oil Crude Sam McDonald County Park offers magnificent magnificent offers Park County McDonald Sam raccoons, skunks, and banana slugs. banana and skunks, raccoons, trails Grove Heritage winds through through winds of network a , In The Park sits atop a deposit of oil and natural gas. gas. natural and oil of deposit a atop sits Park The Heritage Grove Heritage jays, acorn woodpeckers, western gray squirrels, squirrels, gray western woodpeckers, acorn jays, visit www.SMCoParks.org. visit live oak, and knobcone pine. knobcone and oak, live Wildlife often sighted in the Park includes Steller’s Steller’s includes Park the in sighted often Wildlife Park County McDonald Sam reservations for these camps, call 650-363-4021 or or 650-363-4021 call camps, these for California laurel, big leaf maple, canyon live oak, coast coast oak, live canyon maple, leaf big laurel, California of creeks within the Park provide riparian habitat. riparian provide Park the within creeks of To make make To Camp Horse Brook Jack (seasonally). (seasonally). the Cruz cypress, California wax myrtle, tanoak, madrone, madrone, tanoak, myrtle, wax California cypress, Cruz redwood sorrel, horsetail, and wildflowers. A number number A wildflowers. and horsetail, sorrel, redwood youth camps youth or or several of any reserve may Groups of trees including coast redwood, Douglas fir, Santa Santa fir, Douglas redwood, coast including trees of forests, with a lush understory of huckleberry, ferns, ferns, huckleberry, of understory lush a with forests, Pescadero Creek County Park includes a diversity diversity a includes Park County Creek Pescadero call 650-363-4021. call the Sierra Club at 650-390-8411 x393. 650-390-8411 at Club Sierra the This park is primarily magnificent coast redwood redwood coast magnificent primarily is park This To make reservations make To , visit www.SMCoParks.org or or www.SMCoParks.org visit , Natural features Natural Hikers’ Hut Hikers’ may be reserved by calling calling by reserved be may Club Sierra The Natural features Natural available by reservation. by available hour to a full day. full a to hour group camping sites camping group picnic group that are are that and Jack Yaco Jack as McDonald Park, offering a range of hikes from one one from hikes of range a offering Park, McDonald servicemen who died in World War I. I. War World in died who servicemen drop-in picnic sites, picnic drop-in as well well as includes also Memorial trails meander through Sam Sam through meander of miles Several oldest park. It is dedicated to the San Mateo County County Mateo San the to dedicated is It park. oldest Activities and facilities and Activities recreational vehicles vehicles recreational up to 35’ in length (no hook-ups). (no length in 35’ to up Acquired by the County in 1924, this is the system’s system’s the is this 1924, in County the by Acquired as a limited number of sites that can accommodate accommodate can that sites of number limited a as group camps, a visitor center, and 499 acres to explore. to acres 499 and center, visitor a camps, group restrooms, water, and coin-operated showers, as well well as showers, coin-operated and water, restrooms, largest redwoods. redwoods. largest generations. This popular park has trails, campsites, campsites, trails, has park popular This generations. redwood campsites redwood with with many offers Park The are considered to be among the Santa Cruz Mountain’s Mountain’s Cruz Santa the among be to considered are Park have been favorite camping grounds for for grounds camping favorite been have Park old-growth coast redwoods. The grove includes what what includes grove The redwoods. coast old-growth walks. naturalist and programs, The old-growth redwood forests of Memorial County County Memorial of forests redwood old-growth The campfire programs campfire an opportunity to experience the stunning beauty of of beauty stunning the experience to opportunity an nature , current for kiosks park Memorial County Park County Memorial Located on Alpine Creek, Heritage Grove offers visitors visitors offers Grove Heritage Creek, Alpine on Located Check firewood.