Fall Creek, Henry Cowell State Park, CA

• 4-star hike
• 4 mile part-loop
• Moderate | Gain 520 feet
• Felton, CA | San Francisco Region
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Two individuals walking on a forest trail alongside a stream. The forest is dense with tall redwood trees, and the ground is covered with ferns and other greenery. Sunlight filters through the canopy, creating patterns of light and shadow on the trail.

Hikers on the Fall Creek Trail.

When you're visiting the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, don't miss the separate Fall Creek Unit which offers different hiking experiences that are also little less busy but a little more rustic. The unit covers 2,390 acres of the Fall Creek watershed on the north side of the park, and holds about 20 miles of trail, mostly following old wagon and logging roads.

Our mapped hike follows the route of Fall Creek into a forested canyon on a well defined trail with a slight gradient. The forest here is second-growth redwood, having regrown since the surrounding hillsides were logged to fuel the lime kilns in the early twentieth century. Upon reaching the footbridge that crosses the creek's south fork you can choose whether to head west on the South Fork Trail towards the ruins of the old lime kilns, or to continue upstream on Fall Creek Trail deeper into the shallow canyon. The latter option requires a couple of creek crossings that are somewhat makeshift and at times might require you to get your feet wet, but it's easy to turn back if you need to.

Trail Options Expand KMZ · Google Earth ·

⬤ 4★ Fall Creek Trail 3.5 mi part-loop, moderate, gain 520 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions GPX?

$ CA State Park fee

The lime kilns date to the early 1870s, when the IXL Lime Company built three granite-block kilns to process limestone exposed along the Ben Lomond Fault. Henry Cowell's company took over the operation in 1900, and the kilns remained in use until 1919, when more efficient oil-fired kilns elsewhere made the site obsolete. A short distance further along the South Fork Trail past the kilns stands the Powder Magazine, a limestone-block structure once used to store the blasting powder used in the quarry.

A fee is required to park at the trailhead, but if you've already paid to enter the main Henry Cowell State Park property then there's no additional cost. We have recommended trail reviews for that side of the park and have linked them below.

A person standing on a small wooden bridge over a stream in a lush forest setting. The forest is dense with green foliage, and the stream has clear water flowing over rocks. The person is wearing an orange-red top and black pants, facing away from the camera, looking into the stream or possibly at the surrounding nature.

One of the intact Fall Creek crossings.

A yellow slug on a dark, moist soil surface, accompanied by a green clover plant with multiple leaves.

The banana slug, a UC Santa Cruz college mascot.

A small wooden bridge in a dense forest crossing over a stream. The ground is covered in lush, green moss, and sunlight filters through the canopy, creating dappled light and shadow patterns on the forest floor.

Fork west at this bridge for the lime kilns.

External links:
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park website

Trailspotting nearby:
5★ Henry Cowell State Park (1-6 mi)

Trailspotting free offline maps:
MAP PACK San Francisco Region

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