Trail of the Week: Fort Ross State Historic Park

At the main entrance to Fort Ross State Historical Park sits an assembly of buildings that are representative of an early 1800s Russian settlement and the ranching era that followed. Between 1812 and 1841, Russian trappers made this coastal point into a base for their fur trading operations, hunting the sea otters that inhabited the coast. The land was also cultivated for agriculture, supplying wheat and other crops to Alaska.

Fort Ross is a reconstruction of the stockade that once stood atop the cliffs in 1812. Only one of the original settlement buildings remain, but many of the buildings and structures that were once here have been reconstructed, including hand-hewn log barracks, blockhouses and a Russian Orthodox chapel.

A Russian Orthodox Cemetery sits atop a grassy knoll above the cove and across the creek-fed gulch from the fortress. The cemetery has traditional crosses marking the burial sites.

Fort Ross Cove is a protected beach below the fort. The cove was the site of the first shipyard in California. The grassy southern bluffs rise nearly 200 feet and lead to Reef Campground, with 20 primitive campsites. A visitor center and interpretive panels describe the land’s natural history and its past inhabitants.

This hike begins at the visitor center and explores the historic fort, the isolated cove and the cemetery. The trail then crosses the undulating coastal terrace, passing gullies and transient streams to the campground.

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FORT ROSS STATE?HISTORIC PARK

Fort Ross - Russian?Cemetery

Fort Ross Cove - Southern Bluffs

Hiking distance: 2.8 miles round trip

Hiking time: 1.5 hours

Configuration: Out-and-back

Elevation gain: 200 feet

Difficulty: Easy

Exposure: Mostly exposed coastal bluffs

Dogs: Not allowed

Maps: U.S.G.S. Fort Ross • Fort Ross State Historic Park map

To the trailhead

19400 Shoreline Highway, Jenner

38.518444, -123.246444

From Gualala, just north of the Sonoma County line, drive 25.7 miles south on Highway 1 (Shoreline Highway) to the posted Fort Ross State Park turnoff on the right at mile marker 33.00. Turn right (towards the ocean), and drive 0.2 miles to the parking lot at the visitor center. An entrance fee is required.

From Jenner, Fort Ross is 11.5 miles north on Highway 1.

The hike

Take the paved path along the right (south) side of the visitor center. Descend through a Monterey cypress forest, and cross a wood bridge over a transient creek. Pass the historic Call Ranch buildings on the right to the west wall of Fort Ross at 0.3 miles

After exploring the fort’s structures, return to the fort’s west (main) gate. Follow the dirt lane across the bluff to the edge of the cliffs. Curve left and descend into U-shaped Fort Ross Cove. At the base of the deep cove, walk toward a footbridge over Fort Ross Creek.

Cross the bridge and climb the vegetated east slope of the stream-fed gulch through bay laurel, willow, and alder. Leave the forest to the open, grassy slopes and enter the historic Russian cemetery, with old wood crosses and views across the gulch of the fort and cove.

Return to Fort Ross Cove, and follow the gated dirt road to the beach. Bear left and climb the wood steps up the cliffs to the headland bluffs. Follow the open coastal terrace past rocky coves and sea stacks. Loop around the deep cove, crossing three footbridges over gullies.

The trail ends at the Reef Campground. Return along the same route.

Robert Stone is the author of “Day Hikes Around Sonoma County.”