Picture of Jughandle State Park - Pygmy Forest- Trail Destination
Caption: Ecological Staircase Jughandle State Reserve, CA
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: The Ecological Staircase is a unique piece of Northern Californian coast line. Over the course of half a million years variations in sea level caused waves to carve faces into a series of five terraces. Each terrace is approximately 100,000 years older than the lower terrace and provides its own distinct ecological communities ranging from coastal headlands to pygmy forests.
Video of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: The first terrace is comprised of North Coast Bluff Scrub, Coastal Prairie, and Closed-Cone Pine Forest. The trees and shrubs closer to the shore grow lower to the ground to adapt to the strong salty winds.
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: As we start to gain elevation we reach the second terrace that is dominated by Sitka spruce and Grand fir
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: As we venture deeper along the trail and away from the salty winds, the forest fills with redwoods
Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: We reach the top terrace where we stroll through the pygmy forest filled with pygmy cypress, bolander pine, bishop pine, and other shrubs. The trees and shrubs in this area are stunted due to the extremely nutrient poor, highly acidic soil that is underlain by an iron hardpan. Trees that are only reaching a couple of feet in height can still be over 100 years old. Pygmy Forests like these are incredibly rare and aren’t found anywhere outside of Northern California.
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Picture of Jug Handle State Natural Reserve
Caption: The trail is about 5.1 miles out and back. Recommend printing out and taking the pamphlet in the link below. The trail is lined with 40 numbered wooden posts. The pamphlet provides a detailed description on what can be seen at each post along the way which makes for a nice self-guided tour. This pamphlet can also be found for free at the Mendocino visitors center.
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/441/files/Jughandle_Brochuretas2016A.pdf
