MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

"The main object of this incidental trip to Santa Cruz was to see Big Tree Grove, which lies eight miles up the San Lorenzo River, and is reached by a narrow gauge railroad or by carriage. We employed the latter medium, partly because of a preference for the carriage drive through the picturesque San Lorenzo Defile, but chiefly because the narrow-gauge train had already departed when we were ready to start. The drive to the Grove occupied little more than an hour, and proved to be even more agreeable than had been anticipated, the road being good, the weather delightful, and the scenery positively enchanting. At the Grove we found a great number of visitors from San Francisco, and several parties encamped in tents on the banks of the adjacent stream. The big trees consist of perhaps a score of immense specimens, with hundreds of smaller ones, all of the California redwood, and exceedingly shapely in form."

For many years stable owner Milo Hopkins, working in conjunction with Southern Pacific Railroad, drove stages which brought visitors to and from Big Trees Grove. In 1902 Hopkins decided to switch gears and become a resort operator. Hopkins leased land from Henry Cowell and set up a rival resort to the Welch family's Big Trees Grove. He constructed the famed Club House at Cowell's Big Trees which he continued to operate until 1928, when he turned over reins of his resort to his son George who continued its operation until World War II.

Source: Sunset Magazine, Passenger Dept., Southern Pacific Co., San Francisco, 1898 and “From New England to the Pacific – Notes of a Vacation Trip Across the Continent in April, May, and June, 1884,” by J.A.S. [John A. Spalding] in Hartford Evening Post, Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford, Conn., 1884

IN MY HONOR

In 1907 Big Trees Grove was visited by an excursion of dentists from the Chicago College of Dental Surgery. This group took note of the many name plaques adorning the giants.

 

"We wandered around the enclosure for some time, looking at the big trees, and reading the plates upon them bearing the names of distinguished individuals who have been thus honored. We had no plates bearing our names to tack upon the trees, but we hoped that some time in the future someone would attend to the matter. The name Teddy Roosevelt adorns one of the trees. We noticed that this particular tree was peculiar. A lot of little trees had sprung up from its roots."

 

"Having completed our inspection of the marvelous grove, we betook ourselves to the railroad station, there to await a train to carry us further along our journey. We had looked upward so much while viewing the trees that we carried our heads higher than usual for several days. Possibly some of the people who saw us thought it was pride that was the cause of it."

 

"Our little span of existence upon the summit of the mountain range, midst the mighty redwoods, which we had enjoyed so much, must end, for now our train arrived."

 

An earlier visitor who also likely departed the grove with his head held high was Henry P. Cobb. For Mr. Cobb took up the honor of naming a tree for himself during his visit. At least according to a memorial reminiscence lovingly compiled by his wife in 1892. She included an excerpt of her husband’s grove visit. 

"From Santa Cruz we visited the big trees near Felton. There is a station in the wilderness, where we alighted. An admission fee is required. There are hotel accommodations inside the enclosure. The 'Giant' is twenty - three feet in diameter, seventy - eight in circumference and three hundred feet high. Quite a number are named. I gave a name to two 'General Lafayette' and 'H . P. Cobb,' The latter is not so large as the former, but very straight and beautiful."

 

Well, at least Mr. Cobb also thought it appropriate to name one of the forest monarchs for the famed hero of the American Revolution too. It is uncertain if either of these names persisted beyond Mr. Cobb’s brief visit.

 

Sources: “Jottings Along a Journey,” by the editor, R.C. Brophy, M.D., D.D.S., The Bur [Official Organ of the Alumni Association, Chicago College of Dental Surgery], Volume 12, Chicago, Ill., January 1907; Sketch of the Life of Henry P. Cobb with Recollections of Travels and Other Papers, by P.H. Sayre Cobb, Detroit, 1892.

ORDER ONLINE

You may now purchase a copy of my book, 

Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park - Big Trees Grove, by ordering it online through the San Lorenzo Valley Museum online bookstore. 

 

Proceeds from the sale of my book will be shared with the Mountain Parks Foundation to help support programs at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. 

THE ORIGINAL RECYCLER

Author's Personal Collection

Banana slugs are undoubtedly the most popular animal seen along the Redwood Loop Trail at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This colorful creature delights the eye with its bright yellow hue. The shell-less gastropod mollusk of the genus Ariolimax is the second largest slug in the world, measuring up to 10 ½ inches in length. As their name implies, slugs move leisurely through life. But give them enough time and they cover a fair distance, moving up to 32 feet per hour. At that pace it’s a good thing that slugs can live up to seven years of age.

The slug’s bright yellow color serves as the best camouflage since on the forest floor they resemble a yellowed leaf from a California Bay tree. It is upon the forest floor where the banana slug plays its vital role. Because redwood is imbued with tannic acid, the redwood forest contains fewer insects than other forests. The banana slug plays the part of forest floor recycler. They consume rotting plant and animal material including animal droppings and a variety of fungi, which in turn provides nutrients to enrich the surrounding soil for plant growth. 

Author's Personal Collection

In addition to its vivid color, another fond attribute of the banana slug is its shinny covering of slime. Its thick layer of slime helps the slug retain needed moisture and even aids in its slow trek through forest debris. Most importantly slime helps protect the slug by transmitting a numbing toxin to any predator unluckily attempting to make a meal of it. Occasionally the banana slug does fall prey to predators. The wily racoon has been known to roll banana slugs in dirt and leaf debris, thus removing much of the slime and making a passable morsel of it. 

Six banana slugs on a log at The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park - Author's Personal Colleciton

In my book, Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park – Big Trees Grove, I stated that I never came across any historical visitor account mentioning the grove’s most often seen resident, the banana slug. I must eat my words now. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this brief mention in a book by Mary Ellen Bamford in 1889:

"I once found one of these huge slugs inside of General Fremont. For the benefit of the too startled reader I would hasten to explain that the General mentioned is a huge redwood, one of the 'Big Trees' near Santa Cruz. Damp woods and the vicinity of springs delight Ariolimax and in such places this creature may hide during the dry summers."

Ms. Bamford was a remarkable woman. She not only had a fondness for natural history but also wrote twenty-one books on a variety of subjects. In addition to her writing, Ms. Bamford served as a substitute librarian at the Oakland Library from 1906 to 1939.

She became a committed prohibitionist and was active with the Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society. "In contrast to most Americans at the time, Bamford was sympathetic to Chinese and other Asians attempting to enter the United States. She was the author of Angel Island: the Ellis Island of the West, which was published by Woman's American Home Baptist Mission Society in 1917."

Source: Up and Down the Brooks by Mary E. Bamford, The Riverside Library for Young People, Number 4, Houghton, Mifflin and Company: Boston, 1889; “Lives of the Dead: Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland,” by Michael Colbruno, March 6, 2016, http://mountainviewpeople.blogspot.com/2016/03/mary-ellen-bamford-1857-1946-american.html.

THE REDWOOD LOOP TRAIL

Happily, the Redwood Loop Trail at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is open to the public once again. In the aftermath of the recent storms, debris has been cleaned up along the trail, now allowing its use by visitors.

This is the Historic Redwood Loop Trail map from my book, Historic Tales of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park - Big Trees Grove. Please enjoy walking the trail and reflecting upon the history of the original Big Trees Grove resort (1867-1930). 

Map based upon the 1932 Santa Cruz County Big Trees Park brochure. This version was revised by the author and Park Interpreter Steven Ellmore.

This map shows the location of the original resort hotel complex (midway point of the current loop trail) and the location of several of the named trees along the route. To date, I have located documentation of 112 names given to these forest monarchs. Unfortunately, the location of most of them remains unknown. 

To learn more of the story of the first redwood resort, Big Trees Grove, you may purchase my book at the Mountain Parks Foundation Store at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Proceeds from the sale of my book will be shared with the Foundation to help support programs at the park. 

As you enjoy the Redwood Loop Trail, please remember to stay only on the designated trail. Do not cross over protective fencing around the redwoods. Climbing upon the trees' trunks and roots may damage them and the the trees' ability to sustain themselves. Please remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. Thank you.