The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Salt Point State Park

Perhaps there are so many mushrooms here because it's not allowed to pick them in Kruse Rhododendron park. But you are welcome to grab some, carefully and just for personal use, at some other locations in Salt Point State Park https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453

Just past the 3.8-mile, two-hour loop of the Pygmy Forest Trail you can continue through a mixed evergreen forest, a grassy prairie surrounded by pines, and lots of mushrooms and wildflowers. Start out on Central Trail, located near the ranger station. You’ll pass madrone, Douglas fir, tan oaks, and eucalyptus as you ascend steadily upward. The occasional interpretive signs are interesting, describing various plants and the way they were used by the area’s first residents, the Kashaya Pomo. After you’ve walked about one-and-a-half miles you’ll come to an intersection; turn left onto the North Trail, which brings you through the pygmy forest. Turn left again at the Water Tank Trail; it’s short, less than a quarter mile, at which time you rejoin the Central Trail. Turn left to continue on the South Trail to a large prarie. Turning right brings you back to the ranger station https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453

This is a key segment of one of Salt Point State Park's world wonders: a pygmy forest. The Bishop and Bolander pines, Mendocino cypresses, and redwoods here are fully mature (and in some cases, more than a century old), but at only a few feet tall, are uniquely miniature. These trees’ stunted growth is caused by an inhospitable combo of highly-acidic, nutrient-free soil and a below-surface hardpan layer that blocks soil drainage and prevents the trees from setting the deep roots they need to thrive. The 3.8-mile, two-hour loop of the Pygmy Forest Trail takes you through a mixed evergreen forest, a grassy prairie surrounded by pines, and lots of mushrooms and wildflowers (in season) before you reach pygmy tree territory. Start out on Central Trail, located near the ranger station. You’ll pass madrone, Douglas fir, tan oaks, and eucalyptus as you ascend steadily upward. The occasional interpretive signs are interesting, describing various plants and the way they were used by the area’s first residents, the Kashaya Pomo. After you’ve walked about one-and-a-half miles you’ll come to an intersection; turn left onto this North Trail, which brings you through the pygmy forest. Turn left again at the Water Tank Trail; it’s short, less than a quarter mile, at which time you rejoin the Central Trail by turning right. This brings you back to the ranger station https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453

With rocky cliffs as a backdrop, Stump Beach is a sandy cove overlooking the ocean in Salt Point State Park. The beach is at a major trail intersection and is hard to miss. You get a pretty cool perspective of the beach from up on top of the overhang area.

Salt point is located on the Sonoma coast. Be careful, because the waves can be quite big, so it can be dangerous here.

Salt point is located on the Sonoma coast. The sea can be dangerous here. Be extremely cautious, because the waves can be quite big especially in winter.

Sandy beach along a gorgeous deep cove in Salt Point State Park, surrounded by a rocky overhanging bluff on all sides except where Miller Creek descends down to the beach from the south. From the parking lot right off Highway 1 a trail to the ocean level is getting steeper at the end, where stairs lead down to the beach.

Reproduction of the historic Russian Fort built along the coast frequented by Russian hunters, particularly interested in beaver pelts