”
After the soccer game, pack a picnic lunch and head over the
hill. Tell the kids you’re going to show them a tree that is as
tall as the Statue of Liberty and bigger around than the size of
their bedroom
”
What happened to the days when children climbed trees, built forts and caught lizards and frogs? Today, parents shuttle their children to an assortment of structured lessons, practices and games that fill after-school time and weekends. Other free time is occupied with truly amazing electronic toys.
Like many people, I worry about the loss of free time for children to roam in the outdoors. In his book, “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv describes the physical and emotional cost to children for their separation from nature. Is the future of wild places safe in the hands of those who have never come to know it?
How can time in nature compete with a hand-held device that can instantly connect you to anything and anybody? Technology is dazzling. Yet, while a smart phone can dazzle you, it will never stir your soul. On a recent visit to Henry Cowell State Park near Santa Cruz, I found a place with enough variety to interest and entertain all ages.
Usually, sounds of machinery intrude on the silence that people hope to find in the outdoors — but not always. As I stepped from my car in the Henry Cowell parking lot, the powerful whistle from the steam engine of the Roaring Camp Railroad cut the still morning air with a sweet nostalgic sound. Above the tree tops, I could see the column of steam pulsing from the engine’s stack. The railroad can be reached through a separate entrance or just steps from Henry Cowell’s parking lot. Get a discount coupon at the Mountain Parks Nature Store.
I sought some guidance at the Visitors Center, then set off down the Redwood Loop Trail. This short, flat trail is wheelchair and stroller accessible and must hold the most impressive stand of old growth redwoods near the south Bay Area. The oldest trees here date back 1,800 years and reach 285 feet. I stood at the base of one specimen that is 277 feet tall and 17 feet in diameter at its base. It grew from a cone the size of an olive and a seed the size of an oatmeal flake — amazing. The limbs were larger that most trees I have seen.
After a 15-minute walk, the trail loops back and returns through the trees. I hopped on the River Trail only a few steps away and returned along the wide and gently flowing San Lorenzo River. On the river’s edge back near the Nature Store, there was a narrow beach and a rope swing where kids were doing what kids do.
The park has 1,800 acres and 15 miles of hiking trails for those looking to go further, but it has the variety and easy setting to please a young one who might be turned off by a simple hike. The train, the river and the big trees are all close by and strung out along a flat and compact setting.
Henry Cowell State Park is bounded on one side by Graham Hill Road (campground entrance) and on the other by Highway 9 (day-use entrance) and is situated just south of Felton. It is easy to reach — not deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains like Big Basin State Park. Consult the web for directions along Mount Hermon Road from Scotts Valley, but be aware that the other route, up Route 9 from Santa Cruz, is currently closed.
After the soccer game, pack a picnic lunch and head over the hill. Tell the kids you’re going to show them a tree that is as tall as the Statue of Liberty and bigger around than the size of their bedroom.
