Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Local legend has it that the Partington Cove tunnel was used to smuggle booze during Pro-
hibition.
Trip Description
From the cattle gate near the northwest end of
Partington Creek Bridge
(240'),
you'll descend a steep grade 0.2 mile along a fire road to a small flat beside the creek.
The trail narrows as you reach a
spur
(0.25 mile, 60') that leads upstream 100 feet
toward an outhouse beside a dense stand of redwoods.
Continue downstream 100 feet to another
spur
(0.3 mile, 50'), which leads 200
feet to the narrow west cove at
Partington Point.
Taking this spur, you'll pass a
cluster of grizzled redwoods that struggle against the salt spray and pounding surf.
The spur emerges on the beach, where you'll have to clamber over a few granite
boulders onto coarse sand washed by exceptionally clear emerald water. Dominating
the cove is Salinian block granite, formed 80 million years ago in Mexico and carried
here along the San Andreas Fault. This granite is extremely erosion resistant, leaving
the water largely free of sediments that cloud water elsewhere along the coast.
From the prior junction, the main trail bears left and threads through a 100-foot
tunnel to the east cove. Built in the 1870s by John Partington, the hand-split redwood
tunnel leads to
Partington Landing.
Here the canyon's redwoods and oaks were
loaded onto waiting ships. Redwood was used to build homes, roofs, and fences in
rapidly growing San Francisco, while tanoak bark was used to tan leather. Today, this
is an ideal spot to have a picnic, watch for whales and sea otters, and soak up magni-
ficent sunsets. Return the way you came.
