Russ Park

Ferndale City Park

Click for map.

Russ Park was donated to the city of Ferndale in 1920, so should be marking its 100th this year. There's a little written about it in many places, but the best I see is by Michael Kauffmann who has made parts of his guidebook available online. My research prior to going was more along the lines of noting there is trail out there and I'll go and try it. I probably would have seen a little more trees of the forest, but that Sitka spruce next to the kiosk needed no introduction and made me very happy I had come to see a little city park.

Russ Park has a gravel lot and a sign. More information is on a kiosk up the trail.

The park is kept as a "primitive wilderness and bird sanctuary", but the trails through it are very well maintained. My source for seeing that there were trails was a bit incomplete about them. It had a lollipop loop shown but there are three different trails to climb but the ridge to get to the loop at the top. I decided I would come back via the right hand (Village Trail (or Pacific View Trail, the map in the kiosk and the ones along the trail have different name opinions)) one. Maybe.

Just a little bit of that forest.

I started to climb via Lytel Ridge Trail (or Main Trail). It starts gradually, but then chugs through a bunch of little switchbacks determinedly upward. The grey air kept making me think of smoke. I took some deep breaths but could only detect water. Just ordinary fog, thick and damp.

There's more green past the park edge and a long way down the steep slope of the ridge.

The trail relents in the climb and meanders to a junction. I went straight, starting on the Daddy Bush Trail (or Maple Leaf Loop Trail). It drops through another valley.

The forest composition changes on the other side of the ridge.

One of many junctions in the trail system.

Signs warned that Skunk Cabbage Trail (or Eugene Street Trail) is unmaintained and not recommended. It looked well used but less kept. I started up again on Francis Creek Loop Trail (or still Maple Leaf Loop Trail) hitting some spots overlooking pretty expanses of forest just in the little canyon alternating with longer views.

I may have found the maples all leaning/falling into the creek area. The leaves are partly browned.

There are a few birds and a mammal stood still long enough to photograph.

Peeking at the Eel River delta through the trees.

I turned up the Bunker Hill Viewpoint (or Eagle Point Spur) to hit the high point. There is a bench in a saddle with a view. I tagged the high point just before it, then after enjoying the view tagged the higher point after. There is distinct trail to both and thin trail down the steep drop on the other side to keep on going.

A view of a scruffy forest with dirt roads. Still foggy, not smoky.

I headed down off the spur and back to the junction. This part of the loop stays up on the ridge making a much easier walk. At the junction, I went straight on through again, coming to the edge of Zipporah's Pond. It's just mud now and much of that might be dry. It was probably dug out and the redwoods around it planted. It still makes a nice place to stop on a bench.

Zipporah's Pond has deep footsteps in the mud and skunk cabbage to suggest that water sits here a while.

I went down Eucalyptus Trail (or Ferndale View Trail) as far as a viewpoint marked on the map. I had to stand up high on a log to get any sort of view which was almost completely socked in so wasn't there anyway. It has a round picnic table for folks to try to enjoy it anyway.

There is a suggestion of a church steeple on the left of this Ferndale View in the fog.

I decided to head back up to the dry pond and go down Village Trail after all. It starts off going up rather than down, then balances along a thin ridge. I think I found the Francis Creek Viewpoint, but it was missing its bench.

Up at the top of the ridge, the land drops off steeply on either side and there's a few California bay laurel on the sunny side.

The viewpoint seems to overlook a ranch.

After the viewpoint, the trail turns off the ridge and drops, often steeply, along little wiggles.

A little bit of view of Ferndale in the fog.

Lots of distinct trees along the way.

There's various trails that reach down to the neighborhood below and I turned to get back to the parking area, eventually following the Bluff Street Trail (they agree on this one) back.

Thin trail on the hill side, but it is built up and maintained on the unstable slope.

Tiny mushrooms were sprouting from the twigs beside the trail.

Banana slugs found themselves a lot of big mushroom to eat.

A little easier to see Ferndale from down under the fog.

I made it back to the big spruce beside the kiosk and finished. The park really is a big delight in a small package. The trails are tough for their length.

©2020 Valerie Norton
Written 8 Oct 2020