Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve
NATURE · NATURE RESERVE
Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve
Nature
Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve is a small protected forest on the Sonoma Coast in northern California, known for a striking understory of Rhododendron macrophyllum that blooms pink each spring within secondary redwood and Douglas fir woods. The grove developed through ecological succession after wildfire and became a local attraction, enriched by huckleberry, salal, Pacific wax myrtle, ferns, and seasonal streams. The land was once part of an 1880 ranch where logging, tan oak bark harvesting, and sheep grazing altered the landscape. Donated to California in 1933 by Edward P. Kruse, it has since been managed to preserve the rhododendron habitat as tan oaks increasingly shaded it.
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Timber Cove, California
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