Jughandle State Reserve & Ecological Staircase
Jughandle State Reserve & Ecological Staircase
Jughandle State Reserve features a 2½-mile self-guided nature trail called the Ecological Staircase. Starting by the ocean, this trail goes inland up a series of five ancient terraces formed by waves, glacier, and tectonic activity. Each terrace was uplifted from the sea about 100,000 years after the previous was raised. The lowest terrace is prairie, followed by a pine forest, then a redwood forest, and finally a pygmy forest with knee-high trees that are decades old. The trail features an amazing variety of trees, since the ecologies of the different terraces vary widely.
Trail markers point out: (5) Sitka Spruce; (6) Grand Fir; (8) Pink Currant; (9) Bishop Pine; (12) Shining Willow; (13) Red Alder; (14) Red Elderberry; (17) Monterey Pine; (2) Douglas Fir; (21) Hairy Manzanita; (22) Rhododendron; (23) Tanbark Oak; (24) Redwood; (26) Red Huckleberry; (28) Western Hemlock; (31) Blue Huckleberry; (33) Bolander Pine; and (35) Pygmy Cypress.
The Pygmy Forest only occurs in a few places in northern Caliofrnia. Trees and shrubs are stunted by an extremely nutrient-poor, very acidic soil (1000 times more than a redwood forest, equivalent to vinegar). This soil covers an iron hardpan – the five terraces along the trail. Since the soil never dries out beneath the surface, only certain plants can tolerate the low oxygen levels in the soil. Be sure to stay on the boardwalk to avoid damage to the fragile ecosystem here!
Access: the reserve is on Highway One, 4¾ miles north of Mendocino, and 3 miles south of Fort Bragg. Turn west off Highway One into the well-marked parking area. 707-937-5804
Distance and Time: 5 miles round trip; about 3 hours.
Alternate: a short, easy trail goes west from the parking lot down to Jughandle Beach.
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em watson said,
hello.
my name is em watson and i was wondering if you could give me a list of the animals that live around Jughandle beach.
many thanks
em.
dff said,
Em,
I am currently researching things for my book, so I looked at the available info for Jughandle. All the material talks about the plants, since the Ecological Staircase is the big deal. The Russian Gulch SP brochure mostly talks about history.
Here’s what I know to be in the area: deer, skunks, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and squirrels. You can find bears and mountain lions further inland, but they don’t come this close to people any more ( or very rarely). There are wild turkeys in the area, and red-tailed hawks, and osprey (there are nests up Caspar Creek a short distance away). Brown pelicans can occasionally be seen, too. You might occasionally see sea lions or harbor seals, but there are no permanent colonies here.
In the winter and early spring, you could easily see migrating whales from the bluff above the beach, although I’m not sure how much you’d see from beach level — the beach is a protected pocket beach, so it’s a relatively small area that’s open to the ocean.
I hope this helps.
Dennis
California Redwoods in Fort Bragg, California | Mendocino Fun said,
[...] Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Bragg is a great launching pad for seeing redwoods. One of my favorites: Jug Handle State Reserve; in a 45-minute walk, you see redwoods and a pygmy [...]
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