A Walk Through A Hidden Redwood Grove in Southern California

in #mycalifornia6 years ago (edited)

Think you have to drive all the way Northern California to see the famous Coastal Redwood trees? If you find yourself confined to Southern California you may be surprised to know that there's a grove of redwoods in a regional park in Orange County.

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Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea, California is the home of a hidden redwood grove of about 200 trees. Go ahead and enter the park, pay the $3-$5 entrance fee, and find some parking. Take a look around. Looks like a normal park, right?

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But if you can pry your @suitcasetoddler ('sup @checky?) away from the sweeeeeeet playgrounds and the tranquil lake, there's a dusty trail in the back of the park. That's what you want.

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Surely this can't be the way to the redwoods! Redwoods need water and fog and cold and this is none of those things! Abort Mission!

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Oh, hey there! We must be on the right track! Carry on!

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Definitely on the right track!

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And there they are, smack in middle of Orange County. Redwoods!!

But how did they get here?

Funny you should ask.

In 1970s a local bank ran a promotion: open a bank account and get a free Redwood seedling. In Southern California? Pressumably to watch the seedling slowly die? Madness? Genius?

It seems to have worked alright for at least some of the seedlings. As Carbon Canyon Regional Park was founded in 1975, they took on about 200 of the seedlings and planted them in a grove in the back.

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The tallest of the Brea grove is only about 100 feet, so not nearly as majestic as their Northern Californian cousins. They grow to roughly three times that height.

But not bad for seedlings that were 5 to 10 feet in 1975 and who are definitely out of their element, plopped down in basically a desert and wished good luck.

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All in all, a nice little one hour hike in the middle of suburbia for @suitcasemama, @suitcasetoddler, @suitcasebaby, and I.

Throw in a quick game of hide 'n seek and you'll have a great morning!

All photos mine and @suitcasemama's


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My oldest son lives in Manhatten Beach, CA. Definitly taking the grand kids there on my next visit. Thanks for the inside info!

Cool! It's about an hour from Manhattan Beach, but that's still much closer than the 10+ hours it would take to get to redwood national park! 😎

Great pictures and great story @eoj :)

Thank you sir! And happy belated new year!!

@eoj I have to say I am completely dumbfounded. I've been to that park a couple of times when I was younger and didn't realize those were actually redwoods. Maybe because I was young enough to not realize that they could exist some where else. You're right up with it is great.

Me too! I grew up about 20 minutes from the park, but had no idea about the redwoods until this last trip! It was so cool/weird to see Redwoods in my neighborhood. Sounds like you spent some time in the area as well, did you also grow up in southern California?

Looks like you'd enjoyed your time back in Cali for the festive break! Back in BKK now? Hope all is well and a belated Happy New Year! 😊

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Yup, back to the HORRIBLE air quality in Bangkok! What happened while we were away?!?!?! ;)

Hope you both are well!!

Yea it was bad towards early to mid December and I (Sam) got a nasty cough that wouldn't go away even with 10 days on antibiotics! Glad to have left and I know that Thailand for me is just a place for holidays/see family. Yet, you never know...

All is good in Europe! Cold, but fresh. I found a job in London, but starts in March and Becca is already almost three months into hers in Portugal. Long distance sucks, but we have to focus on our careers and see where life takes us. All the best for 2019 for you and @suitcasemama! 😊

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I love how @suitcasetoddler is running around in your photos

I should have used the #runawaytoddler hashtag ;)

Hi from Bangkok. How is everything over there? Run into @jpphotography yet?

That's a great tag!

He's in Taipei and I live two hours away but I met him the other month when he came to visit. Always great to meet anothes Steemian.

There must be quite a few of you guys in Bangkok, do you ever meet up?

Oh great! @suitcasemama and I got to meet him when he went through Bangkok, great guy!

There are some folks around, but with two little ones, we don't find too much time to meet them! I've only met @jpphotography and the legendary @nomadicsoul, who housesat for us while we were in the US :)

@martibis (he created the Steemitworldmap) is somehwhere in Thailand at the moment but I think he may be leaving soon, you should see if you guys have time to hook up.

Oh cool! Hi from bangkok @martibis!!!

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Hiya, @livinguktaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in today's Travel Digest #409.

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