How To Hike El Corte De Madera Creek Preserve: Best Things To See

Picture this – it’s a foggy morning and you step into the dense forest of evergreens and redwood trees and a cool breeze blows by. One of the hidden gems in the San Francisco Bay Area is the El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve and the best way to experience it is to hike here.

El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve is full of amazing things to see while hiking. This includes unique Tafoni Sandstone structures, a view of the Pacific Ocean, and a huge ancient Redwood. It is located in San Mateo county as part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. There’s also a tragic history here and even a trail dedicated to it, which we will uncover later in this article.

If you’re looking for a relaxing hike in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula, the Tafoni, Resolution and Fir Trails are the perfect combination.

Let’s dive into the hike and I’ll show you the attractions you should not miss in El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve. I’ll also be sharing some tips on what you need to prepare.

Best time to visit El Corte De Madera Creek Preserve

The El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve is best in the morning, on a foggy day, or after the rain. It’s also a great hike for escaping the heat during summer.

In the morning, you get to enjoy the cool forest and it takes a longer time for the sun to heat up the surroundings. On a foggy day, the forest gives off a mysterious feeling as you hike past curvy tree branches.

If you’re visiting after a bout of rain, you may see some moss, mushrooms and other fungi sprouting up. There are also some creatures that come out after the rain when its more humid, including the cute Banana Slug. This is when the forest looks most alive.

How to get to El Corte De Madera Creek Preserve

CA-35 (Skyline Boulevard) crosses much of the ridge in the Peninsula, and the El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve is west of this road. You’ll also find that driving through the Peninsula redwoods is really scenic, and is overall an enjoyable journey. If you’re staying around Palo Alto, you’ll have a good base to go outdoors.

If you’re coming from San Francisco, you will be heading south via Highway 280, and then exiting onto CA-35. Next, the drive continues along Skyline Boulevard to get to the parking lots.

Alternatively, if you’re coming from the South Bay, make your way towards Sky Londa where CA-84 meets CA-35. After that, drive northward to your destination.

Parking

Since the El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve is huge, let’s first decide where to park and start the trail. For our chosen hike, we will be starting from Skeggs Point Parking.

There are 4 main parking lots in El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve:

• El Corte de Madera Parking (65 spaces)
  • The only parking area with a restroom
• Gordon Mill Roadside Parking (5 spaces): 37°24’04.8″N 122°17’52.7″W
• Methuselah Roadside Parking (5 spaces): Sierra Morena Trail Access point
• Skeggs Point Parking (26 spaces)
• Star Hill Roadside Parking (6 spaces): 37°24’05.8″N 122°20’11.4″W

Aside from the Star Hill Roadside Parking, all the other parking lots are along Skyline Boulevard.

Things to see on a hike in El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve

There are many ways to hike in El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve, but we want to show you the Tafoni, Resolution and Fir Trails.

Throughout the hike, you can see traces of logging activity that have happened over the years. For example, there are huge tree stumps left behind with moss growing over them. In fact, the name of this preserve actually translates to something related to “cutting wood” in Spanish. As with many other regions in California, logging was threatening the landscape until authorities decided to protect it.

Tafoni, Resolution, and Fir Trail Overview

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This is one of the most popular hiking routes in El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve according to AllTrails, and it is also sometimes referred to as the Tafoni and Fir Trail. Most of it is shaded and at times you’re brought into dense parts of the forest where it feels extra cooling.

The loop trail starts off flat, and then descends into something like a forest valley, before climbing back up where we come to the vista point that faces the ocean. The rest of the way is slightly uphill as it loops back to the starting point.

Distance: 4.9 miles (7.9 km)

Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours

Elevation gain: 827 ft (252 m)

Difficulty: Moderate

There are many signs along the way to help you figure out where you need to go. Aside from that, I recommend downloading offline maps to help with navigation.

1. Sandstone Tafoni formation

After walking along the Tafoni Trail for about 1.3 miles, we come to the Tafoni Sandstone which is a slight detour off the main trail. The small path then brings you down closer to the forest floor. Just before you see the unique sandstone formation, there will be signs telling you not to touch the rocks.

You should not miss this because it’s a rare formation in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In fact, this region used to be submerged underwater as a marine basin. Over the years, tectonic movements pushed land masses out of the sea and caused mountains to form along the California coast. This includes the Santa Cruz Mountains and the prominent Mount Diablo.

This Tafoni formation is the result of erosion after many cycles of wet and dry weather. It often has a cave-like structure, hence its name means cavern in Italian. There have been barriers put up to protect this site as these delicate Tafoni are relatively soft and easy damaged.

Come and check out this unique cave-like structure and admire how intricate the erosion patterns are!

2. Resolution memorial and debris

As we continue on the hike, we’ll make a sharp left turn at the junction where the Tafoni, Resolution and El Corte de Madera Creek Trail meet.

The Resolution Trail is named after the aircraft “Resolution” that crashed on Kings Mountain in 1953, on its way from Australia to San Francisco. It was one of the worst aviation accidents in the region’s history and has since prompted many of the modern day safety measures.

We hike through this area respectfully and acknowledge the tragedy that took place here. There are some fragments of the debris that are visible from the trail, though we only saw 1 site which was barricaded by some tape.

It’s highly likely that other visitors might have been curious and picked up the other pieces of debris. If you happen to see more fragments, I urge you to leave them alone and don’t leave the trail to pick up anything!

3. Ocean vista point

As we turn out to the Fir Trail and head back towards the parking lot, you’ll see another path appear on the left. That will take you past the Resolution Memorial and up towards the vista point where you can see the ocean. There’s even a picnic bench here, making it a great stop for some snacks and to enjoy the view. It is also windier up here, you’ll love it! There’s a reminder on the picnic table that you shouldn’t use drones here, so just admire with your eyes.

After this, its a slightly uphill walk back to the starting point at Skeggs Point Parking. It gets a bit less shaded towards to end, and the sun can feel harsher. Overall though, it is still very serene throughout the trail.

4. Methuselah Tree

If you prefer to leave your car at Skeggs Point Parking, you can walk 10 minutes to the Methuselah Tree. Otherwise, just drive 1 minute down and you’ll find roadside parking. You can also search for the Google location named “Sierra Morena Trail Access point”. Thankfully, it didn’t get crowded so parking wasn’t an issue.

Can you believe that this Methuselah Tree is over 1,800 years old? It is so magnificent and looks so grand amidst all the other trees. Methuselah is actually a name from the Bible of the longest-living man who lived up to 969 years. Clearly, this Methuselah Tree is outliving that guy. It was also much taller before the top broke off, and was last measured to be 137 ft tall in 1954. At its base, it has a diameter of 14 ft.

There are several Methuselah Trees in other parts of California, but this one is the most accessible within the San Francisco Bay Area. In general, Methuselah Trees just refer to really old great trees, and they’re really cool to take pictures with while hiking.

Things to prepare for your hike

• Get a hiking backpack that can fit a rain jacket or some layers, as well as your water and snacks.
• Make sure to use the toilet at the El Corte de Madera Parking before you start hiking as there are no toilets along the trails.
• Map out the route you are taking by referring to this pdf map provided by the Midpeninsula Open Space Preserve.
• Download offline maps like Google Maps, AllTrails, or Maps.me as cell service can be spotty.
• Portable battery for your phone in case you get lost and need to rely on the offline map you downloaded.
• Pick up the physical map from the start of the trail as well.
• Bring sufficient water, i.e. 0.5 litre of water for every hour of hiking. To be safe you should bring 1.5 to 2 litres for a 3 hour hike.
• Snacks like granola bars or a sandwich to enjoy at the vista point.