Headwaters Forest Reserve, Nature reserve in Humboldt County, United States.
Headwaters Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in Northern California that protects stands of old-growth coastal redwoods, younger recovering forest, and watershed areas near Humboldt Bay. A trail runs through the property, passing through different forest types and eventually reaching the most ancient grove at its heart.
The land was logged for decades by timber companies, and the fight to protect its remaining old-growth trees became one of the most contested conservation battles in California during the 1990s. In 1999, federal and state agencies acquired the property, turning it into a protected reserve.
The reserve contains the remnants of Falk, a former timber mill town whose foundations and traces are still visible along the trail. Walking past these remains gives a sense of how closely people once lived alongside the forest, depending on it entirely for their livelihoods.
The main trail is open to hikers and cyclists on certain sections, but the full round trip is long enough to require good preparation and plenty of water. Weather in the forest can shift quickly, so layered clothing is a practical choice regardless of how the morning starts.
One of the more unexpected things about this reserve is that most of the forest visitors walk through on the way in is actually second-growth woodland, recovering from past logging. The ancient old-growth grove at the core of the reserve is relatively small, which makes reaching it feel more like a discovery than a stroll.
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