Ano Nuevo Hike

Hikers,

I’m changing this Saturday’s hike location. We will NOT hike in San Francisco but head south down the coast to Ano Nuevo to escape the smoke.

We’ll start by walking out Cascade Creek Trail to the ocean and then turn north to walk along the level Atkinson Bluff Trail which weaves through dunes and coastal prairie. Upon reaching Whitehouse Creek at 1.5 miles, we’ll turn inland and climb 1,000 feet up the steep 1.2-mile Whitehouse Ridge Trail through a dense forest of redwood and tanoak carpeted by ferns and redwood sorrel. As we pass from one side of the mountain to another the vegetation shifts to Douglas firs, huckleberry, and chinquapin. Then we’ll walk along the ridge out to a viewpoint with sweeping ocean views after which we return the same way we came. If you want to return to the trailhead at this point, your total mileage will be 5.5 miles.

From here, we can continue north for another mile out to an isolated beach for lunch and then to rocky Franklin Point where the clipper ship Sir John Franklin wrecked in 1865. The point provides a view of Pigeon Point to the north and Año Nuevo Island to the south. Going back, we’ll retrace our route south along the bluffs to the trailhead for a total of 7.4 miles.

We’ll leave from UUFRC (2124 Brewster at Lowell) in Redwood City at 9am, Saturday, October 14. Arrive early to arrange carpools. The parking area for the Cascade Creek Trailhead is on the ocean side of Highway 1, about 25 miles south of Half Moon Bay. You’ll pass two other parking areas before this one. The first lot is across from Rossi Road, which leads to the Costanoa Lodge, the second lot is across from Whitehorse Canyon Road. Our parking lot is half a mile south of Whitehorse Canyon Road. If you see the Rancho Siempre Verde Christmas Tree Farm, you’ve gone too far. The drive to the trailhead will take about 1.5 hours.

Bring lunch and water.