Easily the most pastoral landscape remaining in the lower Inland Empire, the Santa Rosa Plateau Reserve offers pristine hiking opportunities, as well as natural and cultural history, unrivaled in the region. From the woodlands of rare and threatened relic sub-tropical Engelmann Oak scattered among sensitive seasonal Vernal Pools and communities of disappearing native bunch-grasses, to Native American archaeological sites and lonely adobes remaining from the ranching days, this reserve is truly a jewel in the Santa Ana Mountains. This mild trip traverses through oak savanna and woodlands comprised of species from both Engelmann and Coast Live, then loops through the basalt-floored Vernal Pool bed, descends into an impressive array of mixed chaparral, before ending at the adobe site, which is complimented by near by deep bedrock mortars of the Luiseno people who inhabited this rich plateau hundreds of years ago. For a hiker, a journey with so much to offer in a place that takes relativity little time to explore is is hard to come by in these parts Thankfully, the Santa Rosa Plateau does just the that and more.
Stats:
Category: Easy
Miles: 4
Elevation Gain: 200'
Location: Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve
The Hike: From the Vernal Pool Trailhead, pay the daily use fee of $4/person before following the trail alongside a basalt-lined trail. It is in fact this unique igneous rock with few pores that formed the gentle flats of these hills along this plateau, as well as holding more water content that surrounding soils. In turn, this leads to the formation of seasonal Vernal Pools, one of the most rare and underappreciated ecosystems in California. Fortunately, this reserve protects what may be the finest specimens in the state during the Winter in Spring. In Summer and Fall, they dry which turns them into a basalt bedded native bunch-grass haven. Continuing the down the main trail, you pass by the Vernal Pools (or pool bed depending on season), before following the signs for the Adobe. Down the slopes of the upper plateau, you hike under the shade of well-adapted Coast Live Oaks with think, dark green spiky leaves, and a tree of a far more distant past.
This other tree is the Engelmann Oak, with gray-green oval shaped waxy leaves with a furrowed bark. It is one of the few plants that remains from the tropical eras in California's natural history, with its nearest cousin being separated from it by vast Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, in southern Arizona and Mexico. As expected from a tropical species, its habitat in Southern California is now extremely restricted, growing only in places that exhibit cool summer temperatures, high rainfall, and warm winters. Consequently, this type of habitat is very rare in this part of the state with many places having only two of these requirements, but few with all three. Surely, no matter what is done to protect this noble species, its linage of glory is far past. In California's modern climate, it will eventually, like the Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoia, most probably, slowly, become extinct. While it is still here, and will be longer than anyone could reasonably guess, the Santa Rosa Reserve offers the finest collections of these specimens in the world, as it is situated perfectly here among its native counterparts.
After passing though a chaparral belt, the trail turns north before connecting to a large dirt road which ends at the adobe buildings. Nearby, there is an interesting anthropological garden about indigenous uses of plants, which passed by a fine collection of bedrock mortars, well over centuries old. After enjoying time at the site, return back the dirt road, and take the Trans-Preserve Trail back to the parking lot. Along the way, you will encounter native bunch-grasses, which prior to the introduction of foreign annual fire-prone weeds covering today 90% of California's grasslands, grew throughout the state perennially, sometimes green, brown and gray. Certainly these lowly plants are among the rarest and least cared about plants in the state. What a blessing it is then that these species, and their habitat, has been preserved so elegantly on this plateau for generations to come.
Hiked 8/20/2017, Riverside County, CA
 |
| Basalt terrain obvious after a prescribed burn |
 |
| On route to Vernal Pool |
 |
| Head right |
 |
| Desert Tarantula awakening! (Non-venomous) |
 |
| Dried Vernal Pool bed |
 |
| Chaparral Belt |
 |
| Englemann and Coast Live Wooldlands |
 |
| Scrub Oak Acorn |
 |
| Laurel Sumac |
 |
| Going through mixed Chaparral |
 |
| Adobe homestead |
 |
| Along the Adobe roof |
 |
| Native Archaeological Site |
 |
| Coulter Pine (planted?) along with a California Fan Palm |
 |
| Another, larger Tarantula |
 |
| Heading back, go right |
 |
| Sunset over the savanna |
 |
| Peaceful |
 |
| The least appreciated threatened species, Native Bunch Grasses |
 |
| Partial Solar Eclipse the next day! |
This other tree is the Engelmann Oak, with gray-green oval shaped waxy leaves with a furrowed bark. It is one of the few plants that remains from the tropical eras in California's natural history, with its nearest cousin being separated from it by vast Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, in southern Arizona and Mexico. As expected from a tropical species, its habitat in Southern California is now extremely restricted, growing only in places that exhibit cool summer temperatures, high rainfall, and warm winters. Consequently, this type of habitat is very rare in this part of the state with many places having only two of these requirements, but few with all three. Surely, no matter what is done to protect this noble species, its linage of glory is far past. In California's modern climate, it will eventually, like the Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoia, most probably, slowly, become extinct. While it is still here, and will be longer than anyone could reasonably guess, the Santa Rosa Reserve offers the finest collections of these specimens in the world, as it is situated perfectly here among its native counterparts. 
After passing though a chaparral belt, the trail turns north before connecting to a large dirt road which ends at the adobe buildings. Nearby, there is an interesting anthropological garden about indigenous uses of plants, which passed by a fine collection of bedrock mortars, well over centuries old. After enjoying time at the site, return back the dirt road, and take the Trans-Preserve Trail back to the parking lot. Along the way, you will encounter native bunch-grasses, which prior to the introduction of foreign annual fire-prone weeds covering today 90% of California's grasslands, grew throughout the state perennially, sometimes green, brown and gray. Certainly these lowly plants are among the rarest and least cared about plants in the state. What a blessing it is then that these species, and their habitat, has been preserved so elegantly on this plateau for generations to come. 
No comments:
Post a Comment