Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve, in the heart of the Coast Range, is an excellent example of both a magnificent coastal redwood grove and a beautiful fern forest. The Reserve is located about 15 miles east of the town of Comptche. It can also be reached by traveling 13 miles west from Ukiah past Orr Hot Springs resort. Montgomery Woods is one of the more remote of California’s 31 redwood parks. It is a perfect place for a picnic. A trail follows Montgomery Creek upstream to five separate redwood groves that have never been logged. The trail is about three miles long, laid out in a shallow loop that takes about an hour to travel. The reserve started with a nine-acre donation by Robert Orr in 1945, and has been enlarged to 2,743 acres by purchases and donations from the Save the Redwoods League.
