Pomo Canyon Hiking

Last Update: July 18, 2009

Description:

Pomo canyon is nestled just back from the Russian River and the Sonoma Coast. There are several redwood groves, with the largest at the Pomo Canyon campground. These are refreshingly cool in the summer, and while they're cold in the winter, the waterfall at the far end still makes the trip worthwhile. Sometimes the trail is overgrown with Poison Oak, so we recommend either long pants or convertible/detachable ones.

This page is WIP - we recommend you see the Sonoma Coast SP web site for more details.

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Trailheads and Hikes:

Trailhead	Driving Time To Trailhead	Hike	Difficulty	Length (miles)	Elevation	Carpool and Hike Time
Shell Beach Trailhead(free)	~60 minutes
Pomo Canyon Campground(free)	~70 minutes

Other Links
Sonoma Coast SP (California State Park Official Site)

Possible Hikes:

Shell beach to Campground: 3 miles, 700 foot gain. This is a one way hike. You'll need 2 cars.
Shell beach to Campground and back: 6 miles, 700+ foot gain.

Description:

The hike is about 3 miles one way or 6 miles round trip. Elevation gain of ~700 feet. The hike is inland away from the coast. The trail has 2 small redwood groves and several fragrant bay trees. It is lush with many ferns. The trail ends in a large redwood grove campground. If it has been raining lately, there is a 20' waterfall at the far end of the campground.

Directions:

Take River Road to HWY 1 near Jenner and drive south about 1 mile. Park in the Shell Beach parking lot. On the other side of HWY 1 is the Pomo Canyon trailhead. It took us almost an hour to drive here from Santa Rosa. If you wish to hike 1 way only, you'll need to take 2 cars, and park one at the campground. Look for the Sizzling Tandor restaurant on HWY 1 between Jenner and Shell Beach. The road next to the restaurant should take you to the campground.

History:

This uses to be an old Pomo Indian trading route.

Experiences:

Sat Jan 3, 1998

A group of 8 of us went on this hike. It was raining. It took us about 5 hours to do the 6 miles there and back. We hiked very slow, took frequent stops and side trails, and had a long lunch at the campground. It was absolutely beautiful. The ferns were lush, the waterfall was enourmous, we saw some purple irises and blackberry flowers, and had a great time!