Romance in the Redwoods at Big Basin State Park

It may have been a day early, but love was certainly in the air—and in the trees and on the ground and all around at Romance in the Redwoods at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The annual hike attracts lovers of all things natural on a two-hour trek designed to inspire passion and appreciation for love in the wild.

This year, Susan Blake, California State Park interpreter and docent, and fellow docent, Doreen Devorah, led a group of 22 hikers from around the Bay Area eager to celebrate Valentine’s Day by exploring the courtship behaviors of some of the park's most amorous plants and animals.

The walk promised to reveal the reproductive secrets of banana slugs, newts, woodpeckers, redwood trees, ladybugs, hummingbirds and much more. Devorah treated hikers to an in-depth explanation of male and female ladybug courtship rituals, including juicy tidbits, such as the fact that ladybugs can mate for two hours straight.

Blake showed hikers the fascinating birds-nest fungus, whose fruiting bodies resemble tiny birds' nests complete with tiny "eggs." The fungus feeds on decomposing organic matter and are often seen growing on decaying wood and in soils enriched with wood chips or bark mulch.

During the leisurely walk, participants were excited to learn about the unusual relationship between fungus and algae to create lichen, which is an entirely whole organism in itself. Participants used magnifying glasses to check out the phenomenon up close and personal.

Did you know that banana slugs excrete a slime containing pheromones to attract other slugs for mating? Hikers got the chance to touch a banana slug and learn why such a small animal is so important to the many-hundred-foot redwoods of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

It wasn’t just the pheromones that excited the crowd. Big Basin is represented by a staff of nearly 50 volunteer docents like Devorah and Blake, who have spent many years becoming rich sources of information on the park, focusing on everything from native species of plants to seasonal butterflies and birds.

“I really enjoy working with the public, because it's so fun to see the love and fascination for Big Basin grow in their eyes as I share stories of the plants and animals of the redwoods," Blake said. “Last Thursday I took a school group of fourth-graders out, and at the end asked the group what their favorite part of the hike was. One boy answered, 'I loved that I could ask all the questions I wanted,’ and I thought, ‘Wow that was my favorite part, too.'”

Every weekend, the park offers a variety of events, including these coming up:

Wildflower Walk, Saturday-Sunday at 10 a.m.: Join docent Scott Peden to learn to identify many species of wildflower plants and communities on this four-hour, four-mile hike.

Shadowbrook Stroll, March 6, 11 a.m.: Take a less-traveled trail with Doreen Devorah that meanders by Union Creek, over to the Sempervirens Falls and back, all through the redwoods on this four-mile, three-hour hike.

Berry Creek Falls Hike, March 13, 9:30 a.m.: Travel deep into the heart of Big Basin as you experience a wide range of habitats on this moderate-to-strenuous 11-mile-loop hike with docent Bill Rhoades, to the jewel of Big Basin, 65-foot Berry Creek Falls.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is nine miles outside of Boulder Creek on Highway 236. For all events, participants should meet at park headquarters a few minutes before start time. There is a $10 fee per vehicle for all-day parking.

For more information check out the website bigbasin.org, or call 831-338-8861.