Filoli’s new trail highlights the Woodside estate’s future vision 

If you love Filoli, but always wanted more of a chance to explore the Woodside estate’s vast grounds, you’re in luck. 

On June 8, Filoli opened a new half-mile loop, called the Spring Creek Trail, which takes you along a scenic creek bed and through redwood and madrone trees. The path is lined with wildflowers and song birds chirp. Hikers will see the historic flume, the water system built over 100 years ago by William Bourn, who constructed Filoli.

Beyond the gardens and historic mansion on the 654-acre estate, people don’t really come to Filoli for a serious nature hike, but more of its grounds are opening up to hiking trails as outlined in the estate’s 2022-28 strategic plan. 

“Last year (2023), we raised funds specifically to support our nature programs that include access for our preschool and teen programs as well as opening more trails for the public. Our future plans also include deepening our commitment to natural lands management and conservation science,” said Filoli President and CEO Kara Newport in a statement. 

The Spring Creek Trail begins at the midway point of the California Trail (formerly the Estate Trail), a 1-mile loop which opened in September 2017. The California trail was renamed with the opening this weekend to be more descriptive of the interpretative stories Filoli is telling on the trails, according to Filoli’s Chief External Relations Officer Susan O’Sullivan.

“For instance, on the California Trail visitors will learn about (and cross over!) the San Andreas fault line,” she said in an email.

The new trail is described as “moderate” level difficulty by Filoli and includes 125 feet in elevation gain. 

There is a newly installed bridge to get across the creek.

Filoli’s Natural Lands Manager Ian Walsh, who has been working on this project since last year, said in a statement that he is “excited for visitors to witness the power of water, seeing firsthand the dramatic erosion that the roaring creek carved out in the wake of heavy rains during January of 2023.”

“See if you can spot the old bridge, still perched on the rocks hundreds of feet downstream from where it was swept off its foundation during the flood!” he said. “I hope these striking examples emphasize the importance of Filoli’s work in sustainability and adaptation to our changing climate.”

Staff cleared out poison oak, which is plentiful is along the Spring Creek Trail. Although the hike is only half mile, there are several offshoots of trail along it, but staff say to venture off at your own risk given the amount of poison oak.

New exhibition honors Ramaytush Ohlone peoples

The estate’s nature education museum, located inside an old barn, also got a revamp. 

It is now called the Lamchin Interpretive Center and highlights the broader history of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, the original inhabitants and stewards of the San Francisco Peninsula and the current work of the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone. The renovation is funded, in part by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and created in collaboration with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone. (Filoli is not disclosing the costs associated with the new trail and Lamchin Center. “Much of the work was done in partnership with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and other partners, plus our facilities and natural lands teams worked many hours in creating the new trail and center,” said O’Sullivan.)

Filoli sits on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Lamchin, one of the largest local tribes of the Ohlone with about 350 members, according to Filoli’s website. The Ramaytush Ohlone had about 1,500 members when Spanish colonizers arrived in 1769, according to the association’s website.

Lamchin territory includes the bayshore of the Peninsula and adjacent interior valleys from Belmont to present day Redwood City and the hill country to the west along Pulgas and Cordillero creeks. 

“The impacts of colonization are ongoing and adversely affect the Indigenous peoples of the Bay Area,” according to Filoli’s 2022 land acknowledgement statement. “As we use the land to gather, live, learn, and work, we are beneficiaries of those past injustices. Filoli is a sanctuary for healing for all people; honoring this truth is a vital first step to transcend barriers of heritage and difference.”

Newport said the new Lamchin Interpretive Center “will inspire and educate families and school groups every day.”

The new center replaces the Sally MacBride Nature Center, which opened in 1988 and housed nature education exhibits. The new Petaluma Nature Center adopted the taxidermied animals formerly displayed at the nature center, according to Filoli’s website.

Filoli is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The new trail, along with some trails only accessible with a guide, will be featured in a July 10 sunset hike program. For more information, visit filoli.org.