Strolling With Sam

Redwoods Hike in Samuel P Taylor State Park

No offense to Muir Woods, but one of the best parks in the Bay Area to hang out with some big old redwood trees is Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Most people come here for the beautiful creekside campground and picnic areas. But the hiking here can be pleasantly peaceful on a short trail featuring old-growth redwood trees.

See one of the park’s few remaining old-growth redwood trees on the Pioneer Tree Trail (3 miles round-trip). Go later on an afternoon and you may have the trail all to yourself.

It’s an easy meander that starts with a gentle climb followed by an easygoing traverse through a canyon canopied by impressive second-growth redwoods, some with cavernous trunks, others with so much girth it’s worth a tree hugging picture to demonstrate just how big these behemoth beauties are.

About a mile in you’ll get to the very short spur trail (signed) to the namesake Pioneer Trail, one of the few remaining old-growth redwoods in the forest, and estimated to be hundreds of years old. Continue on the loop, descending to finish the hike on a flat, mellow trail.

Watch for poison oak. No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

    View
  2. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

    View
  3. Sponsored

    2025 POST Wildflower Walks

    Get flower empowered! POST’s complimentary 2025 Wildflower Walks guide blooms with the best places to see a variety of florals across the Peninsula and South Bay this spring.

    View
  4. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

    View
  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

    View
  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

    View
  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

    View