Fall Creek Trail
(2 mile hike (round trip): Easy-Moderate)
The Fall Creek Trail is in Henry Cowell State Park. Take Rt. 17 South to Scotts Valley. Exit Mt. Herman Road. Follow Mt. Hermon Rd. to Felton Empire Rd. Parking is a short ways out of Felton on your right hand side. Google Maps
This section of Henry Cowell State Park has a number of opportunities for hiking. The one described here is a walk to the old lime kilns. For most of the way you walk along Fall Creek. The hike is shady as the path follows Fall Creek, which flows year round. The trail passes through a rather densely wooded areas with Douglas fir, and a scattering of Redwood trees. Unfortunately, the Redwood was cut to make barrels and as fuel to fire the lime kilns.
After about three quarters of a mile you will see the confluence of two streams. Follow the South Fork Trail to the lime kilns. In about .3 miles you will reach the kilns. Large stone pits were filled with felled Redwood. Upslope limestone was mined and layered on top of the Redwood. You will see the grates and tunnels at the base of the kilns where the fuel was lighted and air enabled the combustion. A typical kiln produced over 1,000 barrels of lime per burn and consumed between 75 and 150 cords of split redwood as fuel for each load. A production run took about five days to fire and two days to cool.
Resources
Hikes in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
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Last updated 8/6/18