Trail Description: There was quite a change at the park this month. When we were there about six weeks earlier, there was lots of green, but now it looked more like a tropical rainforest. Foot high emerald grass carpeted almost the entire park floor and lush foliage covered everything else.
Manzanita Trail starts with open grasslands on the eastern side of the parking lot, then slowly meanders east before turning south and starting to climb the canopied canyon side about a half mile later.
At first you will see the more open range floral displays such as vetch and lupine. As you climb viola and iris will become more prevalent.
At the intersection of Thatchers and Maria's trail, a small wooden bridge leads to a picnic table and outhouse just up the hill. A perfect resting spot for those important needs. From here we took Bayleaf and then Buckeye back to the parking lot for more amazing forest and floral vistas.
Trail Location: From the parking lot go East (Imola runs East-West) and you will see the trail head close to the road starting in a field.
Ferns not Pictured
Bird’s Foot Fern (Pellaea mucronata)
Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
California Polypody (Polypodium californica)
Gold Back Fern (Pentagramma triangularis)
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum jordanii)
Wood Fern (Dryopteris arguta)
Blooming Plants not Pictured
Baby White Eyes (Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria)
Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum)
Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum)
Blue Eyed Mary (Collinsia sparsiflora)
Blue-Purple Vetch (Vicia villosa)
Chaparral Sunflower (Helianthella californica)
Cotton Weed (Micropus californicus)
Fairy Bells (Disporum hookeri)
Fiddle Neck (Amsinckia menziesii)
Gold Fields (Lasthenia californica)
Hillside Pea (Lathyrus vestitus)
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis)
Johnny Jump Ups (Viola pedunculata)
Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
Milk Maids (Cardamine californica)
Miners Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
Oregon Ash (Fraxinus latifolia)
Popcorn Flower (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus)
Purple Sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatifoda)
Red Berry (Rhamnus crocea)
Royal Larkspur (Delphinium variegatum)
Seep Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus)
Shooting Star (Dodecatheon hendersonii)
Snakeroot (Sanicula crassicaulis)
Spring Vetch (Vicia sativa)
Sticky Money Flower ( Mimulus aurantiacus)
Sun Cups (Camissonia ovata)
Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza chilensis)
Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus)
Winter Cress (Barbarea orthoceras)
Woodland Groundsel (Senecio sylvaticus)
Woodland Star (Lithophragma hetrophyllum)
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Trail is in red.