Butano Fire Road, Butano State Park
© 2011 Jeff PowersA little-known part of Butano State Park, the Butano Fire Road offers spectacular lookouts and access to the old system of logging roads and trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In 2000, POST transferred 903 acres of its Cloverdale Coastal Ranches to Butano State Park, where this gravel road begins. About half a mile up the trail, the road opens up with a view of Blue House Farm and other agricultural fields, coastal scrub and grasslands on Cloverdale. Another mile up it turns into a Douglas fir and redwood forest with views of chalky, eroding rock faces. At the junction with Butano State Park/ Jackson Flats Trail, there is a panoramic view of the Santa Cruz Mountains with the ocean in the distance.
Managed by: California State Parks
Location: San Mateo County, south of Pescadero off Cloverdale Road
Hours: Sunrise to Sunset
Fees: None
Trail Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous
Keep Your Eyes Open For: Sticky Monkey Flower, Coast Live Oak, expansive views.
Directions: Butano State Park is on the San Mateo Coast, off Highway One. Three miles northeast of the Gazos Creek Coastal Access Point by way of Gazos Creek Road, and about 4.5 miles southeast of Pescadero by way of the Pescadero and Cloverdale Roads.
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