El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve

Beautiful, peaceful trails. A fair number of cyclists on some trails (on weekends at least), but a lot of the trails were quiet even on a Sunday. Lovely redwoods, some old. Nicely shady — good for hiking on a warm day.

Beautiful hike among the redwoods! It is mostly up and downhill so be prepared for a light challenge. I love coming here to look for the banana slugs and mushrooms :)

Finally, we picked a weekend without raining to check out the Redwood forest. The 2023 rain season has not been kind to the west coast with down trees and broken roads or trails. The main parking lot was half full compared to the usual car sharks in the typical weekend day. The new sign of no electric bicycle was erected, but there were still those trying their luck. Perhaps it could've been a better luck for cyclists in general with frequent down trees across the trails. Soaked mixed mud and leaves made sure feet do not sink in. It was hikeable, but the ground felt over saturated. It's great to see the trees sprouting and growing well. New seedlings are overshadowing the trail sides dotted with mushrooms as ground cover. Overall scenery was average and best without much of the bicycle traffic.

Typically a lot of bikers on the trail, but not today. A lot of fallen trees on the trail, and rock fall. Still pretty wet, many trails are muddy. The parking lot is at a higher elevation, so descent first and then uphill climb back to the parking lot. Shady with many trees, but nothing spectacular, not much view.

There are still old growth redwoods in the valley. Great place for a moderate half-day hike. Parking can be a little challenging, and there’s only one restroom in the main parking area.