The Grove of the Old Trees is a very small privately maintained open space preserve, stewarded by LandPaths’ staff, volunteers (maybe you?), and neighbors. It is located on a narrow rural road in the middle of a neighborhood. Please drive very slowly down the road for the safety of everyone. The speed limit is 15 miles and under. All visitors to the Grove must stay under the speed limit. The preserve is open from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week.
In addition, the Grove has just one small parking lot that fits just a few cars. THERE IS NO STREET PARKING ALLOWED. If the parking lot is full, please return another day. The Grove is especially busy on weekends and holidays, and there is no guarantee that you will get one of the limited parking spaces after driving down the long road. And parking on the street risks a parking ticket from CHP. Larger groups might be better served going to Armstrong State Park which has more infrastructure and parking. Please note that the Grove of the Old Trees has no bathrooms and no running water. It’s very rustic.
When visiting the Grove, please commit to the following rules:
- Drive safely: Drive slowly and follow the speed limit of 10 to 15 miles an hour for the safety of everyone.
- Keep your dog on leash: And pick up after your dog and take poop bags out of the Grove with you as we have a very small stewardship staff and need everyone to play their part in keeping the Grove clean.
- Pull over to allow other cars to pass: Fitzpatrick Lane, the road that leads to the Grove, is a rural single-lane road where neighbors walk and ride bikes and have the right to do so safely. When you visit the Grove, please pull over when necessary to allow other cars to pass.
- Park only in the designated parking area: If the small Grove-specific parking lot area is full, please return at another time. Parking on the street is absolutely not allowed. You risk getting a very expensive ticket when parking on the street and not in the designated parking lot. Is it worth it?
- Leave no trace: Please pack out anything that you bring into the Grove, respect any wildlife that you encounter, and leave behind things of nature that you find. We are all stewards of the Grove.
- We are proud to say that the Grove of Old Trees is accessible and suitable for wheelchairs and strollers!
Volunteers and staff at LandPaths after completing a Sudden Oak Death survey at the Grove of Old Trees.
How to Get Involved.
- You are warmly welcomed to sign up for a volunteer stewardship day at the Grove of Old Trees. Check our Calendar to see if any opportunities are coming up.
- Join LandPaths for an outing, stewardship day, nature camp in Sonoma County at other preserves and community garden that we steward.
- Click here for a list of the Flora of the Grove of Old Trees to explore while walking the trails!
Stay in touch
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History of the Grove of Old Trees
Stewarded and owned by LandPaths for since 2000, the Grove of the Old Trees is a healthy, old-growth stand of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Accessible only via a narrow, two-lane rural road, the Grove is tucked away in a neighborhood on a road used by neighbors for walking and biking. The Grove of the Old Trees is located on the homeland of the Pomo people and Coast Miwok people, past, present, and future.
For years, the Grove of Old Trees was owned by two families, the Colemans and the Van Alstynes. The families operated sawmills in the area, but reserved the redwoods in the Grove as a family gathering place.
Unfortunately, in the 1990s the grand redwoods were slated to be cut down as part of a Timber Harvest Plan. You can actually see blue stripes painted on certain trees that were in line to be harvested.
A group of county residents known as Friends of the Grove launched the long campaign to protect the remnant stands of redwoods. Thanks to the tireless work of neighbors and environmental activists, the blue stripes are a reminder of a fate averted.
LandPaths former board member Caryl Hart was also instrumental in the final successful push to save the Grove of Old Trees.
In 2000, LandPaths purchased Grove of Old Trees with the assistance of Sonoma County Ag + Open Space, Save The Redwoods League, California Coastal Conservancy, and private individuals. Today, Sonoma Ag + Open Space holds a Forever Wild conservation easement on the property, which mandates a zero take of the trees.
The property will stand forever as a publicly accessible forest preserve, a place for research, respite, and environmental education. We cherish this living remnant of the redwood forests that once covered much of the Northern California coast.
