Lyons Ranch

On our last day of vacation, Kelvin and I decided to do a local few-mile hike without the kids (who happily returned to "school"). My friend Karen had told us about a pleasant prairie hike in Redwood National Park and we headed up there on Bald Hills Road (off the 101-North, a little over an hour from our house) to hike the Lyons Ranch Trail. Since we didn't know how long we'd be gone, Pepper, who we can't leave at home for long periods without potty breaks, came with us; however; we had to sort of surreptitiously carry her on the trail (although we saw no other hikers) as technically dogs were not allowed (but it would have been too warm to leave her in the car).

The area was used for centuries by Native Americans, and at the end of the 19th century through the 1960s, it served as a cattle and sheep ranch.  The "bald hills" without redwoods contrasted the scenery we usually see within this park (which includes forests of the coastal redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens).

The hike was a pleasant 4.5-mile out-and-back mostly flat trail which follows Lyons Ranch Road through the prairie to the site of the old ranch house (which has burned down).  While our coast tends to be foggy (and cold) in the mornings, we were above the valley cloud line a bit inland, and it was a beautiful sunny morning to walk.  

The end of the trail is the old barn "Home Place" of the ranch, dating from 1898.

The "OG" hiking three

The planks seemed a bit rickety but we did go inside. Check out the rusted bike!

There were two small bunkhouses...

...one with a news clipping from 1912.

It definitely was warming up on our return walk (we opted against detouring to a a loop trail which goes by a sheep shed).  The whole walk, including stops for photos and barn exploration, took us about an hour and a half.  Pepper walked a bit but (especially when warm) walks very slowly in her old age so we mostly carried her. I think Iver could have easily walked it with us (Niall would have needed to hitch a ride), but it was an incredibly scenic and peaceful place to stroll!

We stopped at Redwood Overlook (from which you can see Redwood Creek) for a packed lunch before heading home for the afternoon. 

How lucky we are to live just a short drive away from so many scenic outdoors places! We picked a good home to ride out a pandemic, for sure!