Tag: Open Space

Memorial County Park

Redwoods at Memorial County Park in San Mateo County

I had a client send me out to photograph a project in San Mateo County. Given how the traffic works (or doesn’t work), I decided to drive down the peninsula the night before and camp so that I could be close to the photo location in the morning. I wanted to take advantage of the morning light for the photo shoot. The place I picked to camp was Memorial County Park, not far from the town of La Honda. This turned out to be a lovely spot in a lush grove of redwood trees. It was close to dusk when I parked my rig. The fog was starting to roll in off the ocean, giving a quiet, peaceful feeling. The park encompasses 675 acres with 156 camp sites. I was one of three campers in the park on a Tuesday night, May 1. I imagine in the summer this is a busy camp ground. The fee was $25 and showers were available. No dogs are allowed, and I’m usually looking for dog friendly camps.  In the morning I spent a few minutes wandering around camp before heading to the La Honda Creek Open space which was the location for the photo shoot.  It was a real treat finding such a lovely place to camp in the off season.

Mount Burdell

We found another dog friendly walk today; Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve in Marin. Our hike took us over grassy meadows, through groves of oaks and bay trees, and up to the peak at 1558 feet, where we stopped for lunch. There is also a communications tower near the peak. We avoided the tower which seemed to be the popular destination. We found a rock at the top which make a convenient place for our lunch. The rock also had a benchmark marking the top of the peak. A rock wall runs along the ridge at the peak and on the other side of the wall is Olompali State Park, with a trail that goes down to the visitor center. I suppose with some planning you could hike up the route we took and down through Olompali, although being a state park, dogs are not permitted, and our point was to find a dog friendly walk. We covered five miles with a 1300 foot elevation gain. There is quite a panoramic view from the top, although a bit hazy today, despite the clear skies. You can our track log here.