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Salt Point Trail, Gerstle Cove, and Woodside Campground

 

Hike taken late April 2023. 

Out and back trail for as far as you like. Flat if you park at Gerstle Cove, uphill if you park at the top or start at the camp  ground.

It was mostly adventure chair accessible, except for a couple of places where mud and erosion made it so you might need an assist. A standard wheelchair and scooter accessible trail starts at the Gerstle Cove parking area. Flush toilets, dog on leash, fee.

Remember to bring hat and warm layers. No matter what the weather is when you set out, the fog can come in, or burn off quickly.

Thru an interesting series of near disasters, Kay and I found ourselves camping out at the coast. And we had a fabulous time. We saw scads of flowers, and we made a new hiking buddy. This is the Northern California Coast at its best. 

 Mary, our knowledgeable trail buddy. 

Notes on this post: This one is mostly about the flowers. Click on any of the photos to get a slideshow of the photos in a larger format. We saw more than 30 different species on one 3 mile walk.  Leave your notes at the bottom of this post. 

I am going to spend some time with iNaturalist app to see if I can identify some for you. I am no plant biologist.  Please feel free to correct my entries, or to identify some that I haven't yet named.


Notes on camping: This is a State Campground.  Clean, stone privs, no showers, dogs on leash.  If you qualify for a Disability pass, there are deep discounts.  Your camping or day use fee covers both of these and Fort Ross. Camping during the week in April is not crowded, but you will want to do reservations for campsites on weekends and summer, especially since many facilities are closed due to storm damage. I will be back to stay overnight and watch the sunset at the overflow camping area. 




There is lots of easy hiking from the Gerstle Cove parking lot.  Toilets, Dog friendly, and a wheelchair accessible trail.


We started our walk from our campsite (#60 up at Woodside). This gave us a bit of inland hiking that we were really thrilled about.
  Mary identified this as an endangered flower, but we could not remember its name.  It was along the roadway just down from the check in kiosk. Check this rather unlovely slope for some lesser seen varieties. 



 Purple Lupin. Out in full glory.



 Many of the flowers were tiny



 Yellow Lupin


 Harry Leaf Ceanothus

 Huckleberry



 These little darlings are Witch's Teeth  aka Harlequin Lotus.

 


Castilleja, aka Indian Paint Brush

 This area of quarried stone was just south of a lovely super bloom. The farm house was in this area. You can tell where it was by the Calla Lillies. I wish I could find more information on the family that lived here before it became a State Park. 


 Wild Iris, aka Blue Flag. One of my favorites.  It was nearing the end of its blooming cycle.

People are all excited about the super bloom this year, but what is vastly more interesting is the plant communities, the number of varieties. Look for the tiniest flowers. They are some of the most beautiful.

 



 I believe this to be California Manroot, Marah fabaceus. A couple of people identified it as this, but the only photos I find of it have white flowers.  

   

 We found an awesome stand of Dudleas.  These plants are literally disappearing from our parklands. Poaching. 
Two articles on poaching: https://debraleebaldwin.com/succulent-plants/about-dudleyas/   and https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/08/black-market-poachers-california-coastal-succulents/
If you see a poacher, whether a large commercial one, or an individual that doesn't understand the importance of not taking plants take a photo and text “CALTIP”, followed by a space and the message, to 847411 (tip411). 
More on poaching https://wildlife.ca.gov/enforcement/caltip



  Dudleya farinosa, aka Bluff Lettuce. 





  Coastal Tidy Tips


Cow parsnips, I think. All of the Umelliferae family blend into one mass in my poor head. They even changed the name of the family to Apiaceae when I wasn't looking.   


Useful Links:

https://www.inaturalist.org/  (was not happy on the day I tried to use it, but may be over booked today)

https://uswildflowers.com/wfquery.php?State=CA

https://www.petalrepublic.com/native-california-flowers/

https://ovlc.org/native-flowers/  (lists by color)


Comments

Kelly M said…
What lovely flowers. How far is this from Santa Rosa?
May 1, 2023 at 2:38 PM
ant b said…
It is about an hour from here, near Ft Ross
May 1, 2023 at 5:13 PM
Sidney Grace said…
Great photo journey Barbara..
May 2, 2023 at 12:06 PM
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