Creek Trail - Hoyt Arboretum

A short, heavily wooded trail with natural terrain that runs alongside Johnson Creek. Located just to the west of the redwoods, Creek Trail offers a stunning view of the Redwood Deck and surrounding trees. This north-south trail connects to Wildwood Trail in the north and Redwood Trail to the south. Creek Trail is generally a few degrees cooler than other trails, due to its proximity to the creek.

Quick Facts

An image of a wooden wayfinding sign labeled Creek Trail at the top in blue with an arrow pointing to the right. Below, Bristlecone Pine Trail and the Visitor Center are also labeled with an arrow pointing to the right. — Wayfinding Sign at the end of Creek Trail Pointing back in the direction of the Visitor Center.

Surface: Natural surface, packed dirt, and two wooden footbridges

Grade: Generally moderate, but momentarily 19% about 0.09 miles south of Wildwood Trail

Elevation Gain/Loss: 60 feet of elevation gain, 0 feet of elevation loss

Length: 0.13 miles

Number of Benches: 1

Minimum Trail Width: 30 inches, 0.07 miles south of Wildwood Trail

Typical Trail Width: 48 inches

Sun Exposure: fully shaded, with little direct sunlight reaching the trail

Other Things to Note: Steep connector trails, connector from Redwood Trail includes 7 stairs, 2 wooden footbridges without guardrails

Creek Trail Preview

Access the Creek Trail

There are three ways to main access points to Creek Trail:

Connector Trail from Redwood Trail
Connector Trail from Fischer Ln
From Wildwood Trail

Trail map of hoyt arboretum with directions to reach creek trail — The route to reach Creek Trail via Redwood Trail from the Visitor Center marked in red.

Start from the Visitor Center

Starting from the Visitor Center provides access to bathrooms and water fountains, and is a great place to grab a map and get some trail advice. Learn more about Visitor Center amenities on our Plan Your Visit Page.

From the Visitor Center, heading west towards Stevens Pavilion. Just before reaching Stevens, turn left (south) onto Fir Trail. Continue south for .02 miles, until you reach the fork with Fir Trail and Redwood Trail.

An image of a fork in a dirt trail with the trail on the left leading on a slight upslope (Fir Trail) and the trail on the right (Redwood Trail) leading to a slight downslope. — The intersection of Fir Trail and Redwood Trail.

At the fork, keep right and head west on Redwood Trail for .06 miles, until you reach SW Fischer Ln. Cross the road and continue heading northeast on Redwood Trail for .13 miles until you reach the connector trail that leads to Creek Trail.

An image of a tall, narrow sign post to the left of a trail that reads Redwood Trail, next to a small park road. — The Redwood Trail sign post across Fischer Ln.

Turn left (southwest) onto the connector trail and travel .02 miles, and you’ll descend 7 uneven steps, and cross a wooden footbridge to reach the southernmost point of Creek Trail. Take care descending the connector trail, as it has a steep grade, many intrusive roots, and uneven stairs near the bottom.

a trail intersection with the connector trail on a downslope and a red arrow pointing the direction labeled "connector trail to Creek Trail". The main trail intersection is labeled with a double-sided red arrow and is labeled "Redwood Trail". — The Redwood-Creek connector trail.

Start from Fischer Ln

There is a small parking lot at the Bristlecone Pine Trailhead and limited street parking along Fischer Lane.

From Bristlecone Trail parking lot, exit the parking lot and turn right (south) onto SW Fischer Lane. Walk on the paved street 0.1 miles until you encounter the Redwood Trail on your left (east). When you reach Redwood Trail, proceed as instructed above.

A small parking lot with one standard and 2 ADA spots off a small park road with Redwood Trail marked with a red arrow in the background. — The Bristlecone Pine Trail Parking Lot on Fischer Ln.

There is also limited roadside parking immediately south of a connector trail that leads to Creek Trail. Exit the pull out parking area to the north, via the connector trail. Follow the descending trail northeast for .02 miles until you reach Creek Trail.

a gravel parking area to the left of a small road for pull off street parking with a no parking sign shown at the end where the gravel ends. The image shows the entrance to the connector trail to access Creek Trail with a red arrow pointing in that direction. — The small gravel pull out parking area on Fischer Ln.

This trail connects with Creek Trail .05 miles north of the southern terminus.

A narrow downsloping dirt trail leads to a wider trail and a wooden footbridge — The Fischer Ln Connector Trail joins Creek Trail at the “root tree” and second wooden footbridge.

trail wayfinding sign at the intersection of Creek Trail and Wildwood Trail, marking the northern end of Creek Trail — This trail wayfinding sign marks the intersection of Creek Trail and Wildwood Trail, at the northern terminus of Creek Trail.

Known Obstacles and Usability

Creek Trail contains frequent, significant root intrusion throughout.

tree roots poking up about 3 inches above the dirt trail surface in parallel and perpendicular orientation to the trail for significant stretches. — Root intrusion typical to the Creek Trail.

At one point a tree blocks part of the trail, and the trail is only 30 inches wide.

a large tree growing into a narrow dirt trail. — Creek Trail at the narrowest point.

The connector trail from Redwood Trail has 7 steep wooden stairs cut into the dirt trail.

side-by-side images of 7 steep wooden stairs on a dirt trail from above and below. The image below shows the stairs leading to a wooden footbridge. — Stairs from Redwood connector trail to Creek Trail.

There are two wooden footbridges without guardrails. The wood may be slippery when wet.

a wooden footbridge without guard rails in new-like condition. — The southernmost wooden footbridge at the base of the stairs on the connector trail from Redwood Trail leading to the start of Creek Trail.

A wooden footbridge without guardrails and a bench on the north end. The bridge is surrounded by a dropoff filled with vegetation. — The northern-most footbridge on Creek Trail.

There is a significant hole at the edge of the northern bridge.

A hole in a wooden plank near the edge of a footbridge. — There is a significant hole in the north bridge. Be careful where you step.

Along parts of the trail, there are steep dropoffs to either side.

Drop off into a deep ravine full of wood, rocks, and vegetation on either side of the trail with some split rail fences on one side. — Drop-off typical for the edge of Creek Trail.

At the intersection of Creek Trail and Wildwood Trail, there are a couple of significant holes near the wooden footbridge on Wildwood Trail.

holes in the trail, near a bridge — Holes in the trail near the bridge connecting to Wildwood Trail.

Resting Spots

There is one bench, .07 miles south of Wildwood Trail, just north of the wooden footbridge.

A wooden bench just past a wooden footbridge to the right of a dirt trail and surface under the bench is continuous with the trail. Understory vegetation surrounds the bench on either side. — There is a wooden bench nestled between the two wooden footbridges. This is the only bench on Creek Trail.

Questions?

Please reach out to Hoyt Arboretum Friends for more information about trails including accessibility concerns.

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503.865.8733