Orchard hike and talk

Coppertone and I joined others on an guided hike organized by Jack London State Park Partners.  The topic was orchard adjacent to Camp Via on what used to be Sonoma Developmental Center property.  We'd hike out to the orchard and learn more about its history and the plans to restore a portion of it.

We started our hike at the ranch near the park entrance.  Taking the Lake, Mountain and the Old Fallen Bridge trails we ended up at the orchard.  The orchard is over 100 years old.  Originally built and maintained by residents of what would become the Sonoma Developmental Center.  Apples, apricots, cherries, grapes, pears, peaches, prunes and plums were just a few of the fruits grown here.  With shifting public sentiment about the use of labor from such facilities the orchard was eventually abandoned and overrun by shrubs.

The state park and then Jack London State Park Partners hatched a plan to restore the orchard as an historic resource.  Trees that had survived would be nurished and new plantings would conform to early 1900's practices to maintain its original character.  In addition, the fruit generated is harvested and distributed to families in need by Farm to Pantry.  In 2023, over 7,000 pounds of fruit from the orchard were donated!  We learned a lot during the trip.

We returned to the trailhead via a different route, using the Vineyard Trail.  This allowed us to stop by the Grandmother Tree, the largest and oldest Redwood Tree in the park.