United States · US

Powder Mill Creek

Powder Mill Creek is a short, shaded waterway that drops through the old-growth redwood forest of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park near Felton, California, before emptying into the San Lorenzo River. It is one of the Santa Cruz Mountains' quieter waterways, but its name carries a surprising story: it takes it from the California Powder Works, once the largest explosives manufacturer west of the Mississippi, which sat where the creek meets the river. Today the creek is best encountered on foot or by bike along the park's trail network, where the Powder Mill Trail, Pipeline Road and the hilltop sandhills let you follow the water from the ridge country down toward the river valley. Pair the walk with the towering Fremont Tree grove next door and the steam trains of Roaring Camp, and a single afternoon becomes a lesson in California's redwoods, its gold-rush industry and its wild river country.