Read on if you like wildflowers, wildflower walks in Santa Cruz County, Rancho del Oso, Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail and Big Basin State Park.
April 23, 2013—When we asked wildflower photographer, musician and wild man Al Frisby where he’d go to see the blooming sights, Waddell Creek was the first place he mentioned. Since Frisby teaches photography and leads wildflower tours in the spring, we listened. A.k.a. Rancho del Oso, this near-coast section of Big Basin State Park is a gorgeous valley of Monterey pine forest, redwoods and chaparral leading to the sea. Add the riparian corridor of the creek to an already dense patchwork of ecosystems, and you have lots of biodiversity within a pretty small area—which means a whole crazy lot of fleurs.
A good way to see the wildflowers of Waddell Creek/Rancho del Oso is by taking the 3-mile self-guided tour that splits off from the main road directly after the second gate, just past park headquarters. (The name of the trail on maps is Skyline-to-the-Sea Bypass Trail, but the post says Self-Guided Tour.) As of late April the trail has loads of sticky monkeyflower in the sunny spots, Indian paintbrush (or castilleja) in the shadier areas and blue dicks in the dappled parts.
There’s also a ton of California hedge nettle (also called wood mint), which has a pretty fancy wand of pink flowerlets. The wild irises are on their way out, but we were treated to some lovely yellow birdsfoot trefoil growing close to the ground near the start of the trail (in flower language it means revenge!) and some exotic-looking greenspot nightshade growing at eye level. This small white flower grows throughout the Southwest and into Mexico’s Sonoran Desert. Once you know that, it just looks like a desert flower—tiny, fierce and lovely. (Photo of greenspot nightshade by Hilltromper.)
Even before you start off on this trail there’s fun to be had. The road leading from the parking area at Waddell Beach to the ranger headquarters yields plenty of treasures: namely yarrow, blackberry flowers, hedge nettle and gorgeous carmine-colored giant vetch. Petite pale blue forget-me-nots seem to grow all over this valley, too, especially along the roadside. (Photo of giant vetch by Hilltromper.)
Read about hiking from Berry Creek Falls to Waddell Beach on the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail.
Is it all too much, yet strangely compelling? Sign up for a tour and let someone tell you all about it. Al Frisby leads tours at your convenience; email aljfrisby@yahoo.com to arrange one and get a photography lesson at the same time.
Scott Peden, a docent at Rancho del Oso and wildflower expert, leads free wildflower walks on a regular basis. Check Hilltromper events for upcoming outings.
And then there’s the Wildflower Festival at Rancho del Oso, held each year in late April or early May. In 2014 it's April 26-27; nature tours along the short but sweet Marsh Trail offer a surprising variety of flowers, and the Nature Center will have samples on display to help you get oriented and know what to look for.
