Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trip Description
From its northern trailhead at
Alder Creek Camp
(2240'), the
Buckeye Trail
enters
the creek's lush corridor, where poison oak is a common trailside companion. You'll
quickly cross
Alder Creek
and begin climbing the canyon walls southwest through
dense oak woodlands and encroaching ceanothus thickets.
Sections of this trail may be overgrown. (For the latest trail conditions, contact
the Pacific Valley Station, (805) 927-4211, or the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, (831)
423-3191.)
After half a mile, the well-graded trail tops a grassy ridge between the
Villa
Creek
and Alder Creek drainages. In spring, pause to picnic amid these wildflower-
strewn slopes and watch as hawks kite over the tall grass in search of small prey. In
2003, flags marked the faint tread across the open slopes past stands of pines and
oaks.
