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Leanne Grossman’s Nature Guiding

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Discovering New Parks in the Santa Cruz Region

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Nature Rhythms recently discovered some lesser known parks in Santa Cruz County that feature several types of plant communities ranging from redwoods to meadows. 

Loch Lomond Recreation Area in Felton stands as our favorite new discovery. It sits in the Santa Cruz mountains and serves two purposes—storing the city of Santa Cruz’s drinking water reservoir, and serving as a place for boating, fishing and hiking in redwood groves, some of which are steep. We’ve tried to get into this rec area a few times before, but either it was closed for the winter season or the line of cars waiting to get in tested our patience. Parking is limited at the boat dock down the hill.

Of course this land was not always owned by a municipality. Historically, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, descendents of Mutsun and Awaswas-speaking peoples, “occupied the greater Monterey Bay Region, thriving for thousands of years and countless generations prior to European contact.” Despite near extermination by the Spanish, the Amah Mutsun people continue to reside in the area today. http://Native-land.ca

Once inside the rec area, our experience exceeded our expectations. This photo blog reveals some of the views and native plants we enjoyed in Loch Lomond’s redwood forest.

Loch Lomond Recreation Area Reservoir

 

Cream-colored irises spring up around the redwood forest
Columbine
The hardy chemise in bloom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loch Lomond redwoods with reservoir in distance

You can see two features of a redwood forest below: 

On the left, fallen redwoods disintegrate over the creek, returning nutrients to the soil and stream. On the right, the exposed underground of redwoods shows how shallow the roots are, a fact that makes my head spin trying to figure out how 6-foot roots can hold up the tallest trees in the world! The roots intertwine strengthening their foundations, but there must be other structural reasons too.

Fallen redwoods recycle nutrients into the soil

 

Redwoods’ shallow roots

 

 

 

Wake robin

 

Old oak nursing huckleberry seedling

 

The face of an indigenous chief seems embodied in the skeleton of this burnt redwood.

Getting to Loch Lomond Recreation Area is a bit tricky. Once you’re off Highway 17, you drive through a hilly residential area with narrow roads. At the top of Loch Lomond Way, you’ll find the kiosk to pay the entrance fee to drive into the park. Pay attention to the changing hours and seasons when you make your plans. If you’re not looking to go boating, you can park on one of the many picnic areas adjacent to the road that have plenty of parking surrounded by forest.

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Filed Under: Cultural, Natural Tagged With: Loch Lomond Recreation Area, native wildflowers, Redwoods, Santa Cruz

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About Leanne

In nature I find peace, renewal and truth. Ever since I was a child I have loved being in forests and along streams. I feel blessed to be able to spend more time in nature now and share my knowledge and background with people of all ages. Read More…


Nature Experiences

Nature beckons. I bring people of all ages on hikes and walks into forests and woodlands and seashores, up to panoramas and down into canyons.
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