Abe Wouk Grove to Williams and Graham Grove to Harriet Hunt Bard Grove

Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park

Click for map.

There were a number of parking areas along the way that seem to also be part of the park and serve as river access as I drove over to the east section of Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park, but the one by the visitor center (with an $8 day use fee), central to the trails, was closed with the campground. I tried for the parking marked at the end of the loop through Abe Wouk Grove, but missed it and landed next to a bit of river marked Devil's Elbow and walked along the narrow highway to the trail. It was empty of river goers since it sits far up a cliff from the water.

Looking down on the Van Duzen River from a bit of old road.

Only a small trail sign back in the ferns marks the trail beside the dirt.

I missed the parking I was aimed for because it is just a dirt loop around a tree at the side of the road and doesn't look official. I started down the trail beside a sign not caring particularly which bit of the loop I was traveling along. There is only a sliver of land between road and river, but it still felt like plunging into the forest. Unfortunately, the sounds of the road never totally went away.

Abe Wouk Grove is dark and encompassing.

I'm sure nefarious ceremonies of learning happen here.

Just a few aged flowers left on this clintonia.

I quickly found myself at the edge of Grizzly Creek without any bridge. I plunged a foot in the water crossing it quickly and barely got my socks wet even though I was wearing old shoes with plenty of holes.

Grizzly Creek almost at its end. There are probably rock hopping opportunities closer to the road.

I turned to go by the visitor center and into Williams and Graham Grove across the road. This is the location of another Redwood Edventure quest, so I loaded that up and started following the directions. It promptly directed me back the way I'd come to follow an unmarked but well established trail around the back of one group site and under the highway at the bridge for Grizzly Creek. Safe highway crossing is always a plus.

Tiny white foamflowers by the bright opening in the forest by the creek.

Mushrooms approaching a foot across.

Thin trees at first, but there's large ones too.

There's a lot more hill and although there are easier choices, the quest heads up to the highest point before winding down along the "Hiker's Trail" then to Jameson Grove and the "Nature Trail". I like when it compares the bark of coastal redwood and Douglas fir except that the redwood side is almost completely inaccessible from blown down dead wood now. I especially like that they chose a pair of particularly massive trees showing there are other trees that can get really quite big.

I keep finding longhorn beetles of various sorts.

More little things glowing down under a bridge over the tiniest stream.

I finished the quest and the trail and crossed back over the highway to the visitor center. The seasonal bridge across the river was up although they've put it upstream of where the map indicates.

I think the bridge usually spans between the beaches which probably makes the swimmers happy.

The seasonal bridge is up, but the river isn't very deep or fast here.

They've also scraped out some new trail including dirt steps. I climbed up them wondering how long they'll last. There's probably some more work to be done on them. After the steps, it keeps being steep up through Carver Grove. I turned left for the loop around Rathert Grove and Philip Bard Grove. I thought I'd come to another loop and took the right, but that brought me all the way back around to the first junction again.

The upper section of the loop catches a little bit of old road and I found some old cable along it. Some trees up here got cut.

I headed back again to the junction and headed the other way to get down to the Harriet Hunt Bard Grove. It is down on the river flood plane and could well be the best spot for really big trees. The loop is getting a bit scruffy so there's more poking around than circling around to be done.

Looking down on the flat down by the river where the Harriet Hunt Bard Grove sits.

That's a rather large tree. The nature trail area also has particularly large trees.

A fallen tree seems to be somehow vanishing into the dirt with the roots still sitting up high.

I headed back to the bridge the short way. I spotted the bridge for Grizzly Creek waiting on the shore, so it normally does have one by now. My feet got wetter on the second crossing. I found the other side of the loop through the Abe Wouk Grove on the way back. It was a shorter, flatter route that arrived at the parking at a different, unmarked spot.

Fisher Wouk Trail through Abe Wouk Grove.

Then I had to scamper back along the highway with little to no shoulder to where I had parked. I just had to watch it a bit. The road windy enough that the cars aren't very fast, but a few try it anyway.

©2020 Valerie Norton
Written 24 Jun 2020