The Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has nearly 2,390 acres encompassing almost all of the Fall Creek watershed, and about 20 miles of hiking trails. It was once a busy industrial site with a lime quarry and kilns, steam engines, and a water-powered barrel mill. Time has healed many scars, and the park is now a lovely forestland with rushing Fall Creek at center stage. Old lime kilns and other signs of historical uses remain along the Kiln Trail. The mature second growth forest also includes some areas of residual old growth. You will need to walk and listen to find the birds here, but the bubbling creek and grand forest make for a very pleasant outing.
Directions. From Hwy 9 at Felton go west up Felton–Empire Rd for 0.6 mile to the park’s main entrance and a parking lot on the right (no facilities). Other walk-in entries can be found farther up Felton–Empire Rd, and along Empire Grade. Some of these are obscure, so a trail map (available at Henry Cowell SP) helps.
Birds. American Dippers nest along Fall Creek and may be found along the Fall Creek Trail. They are easiest to locate in the breeding season, but appear at other seasons. The park is home to at least three pairs of Pileated Woodpeckers, which range widely but turn up especially along Fall Creek Trail, Big Ben Trail, and the Fall Creek Truck Trail. Hermit Warblers breed fairly commonly in Douglas-firs along the Truck Trail, and also occur elsewhere in the park. Marbled Murrelets have recently been detected at dawn around old growth forest on the upper part of the Truck Trail. Varied Thrush may be common in fall and winter (especially easy to view while driving along Felton–Empire Rd at dawn), and has recently nested in the park. Other species to watch for, according to season include Band-tailed Pigeon, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Acorn and Hairy woodpeckers, Hutton’s and Warbling vireos, Pygmy Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Townsend’s, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray and Wilson’s warblers, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, and Red Crossbill.