San Mateo County Birding Guide by Sequoia Audubon Society - Printed on October 30, 2026
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Portola Redwoods State Park is located on the upper Pescadero and Alpine Creek watersheds (it shares this area with the Pescadero Creek County Park complex, which has a separate entry in this guide).
This under-birded park offers ample opportunities for the study of natural history as well as fine scenery and trails. For instance, one can still find evidence of a time when this now-elevated area was part of the ocean! Portola Redwoods State Park is most easily reached from Skyline Boulevard (SR 35). If coming from the coast, both La Honda Road (SR 84) and Pescadero Road provide access. These routes from the coast are all winding and scenic, but Alpine Road offers finer panoramas of the varied landscapes and vegetation and has dazzling ocean views. By using pullouts on Alpine and the Portola State Park Road one can scan for raptors and appreciate the wide range of habitats in the area. These include valleys and wetter slopes cloaked in a grand forest of Coastal Redwood, Douglas Fir with drier slopes, hills covered by grassland, chaparral or a forest of Douglas Fir, live oak and Pacific Madrone. Among Bay Area birders, Portola especially is known as the most likely spot in the County to see such locally scarce residents as Pileated Woodpecker (along Coyote Ridge Trail or near ranger's residence #1 near the Portola Park boundary) and Vaux's Swift (a pair nests in the chimney of the Visitor Center some years!). The endangered Marbled Murrelet is also present, mainly as a breeding bird. It is possible to catch a glimpse of these treetop-nesting seabirds and hear them call as they fly overhead from April to August. A good place to listen in and perhaps see them as they return to the nest is in the clearing around residence #1, or from the bridge over Peter's Creek located between the park office and the main campground, just before daybreak.
Year-round residents include Band-tailed Pigeon, Belted Kingfisher, Acorn & Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, both jays, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, Bushtit, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Bewick's and Winter Wrens, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Wrentit, Hutton's Vireo, Hermit Warbler (in spring and summer, but also very rare in most winters), both Towhees, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch, and Red Crossbill (unpredictable and irruptive, as always). Varied Thrush, previously thought to be only a winter visitor, was recently discovered as a rare and secretive breeder in this area and so should probably be considered year-round residents, even though it is far more common in winter. Listen for its song at dawn in the conifers. American Dipper regularly occur here, too.
Breeding birds, present from March through August include Vaux's Swift, Allen's Hummingbird, Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush (in riparian areas), Warbling Vireo, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, and Wilson's Warblers.
Among the winter birds are Red-breasted Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Townsend's Warbler, and Fox Sparrow. Raptors are more common in winter and in fall migration so keep a lookout for Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, soaring Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel hunting the open roadside areas and even Golden Eagle. Also notable are the variety of owls to be heard and, if lucky, seen. Western Screech, Great Horned Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl and Saw-whet Owl are all present in the area, with the hyper-rare possibility of a Spotted Owl; one should also stay alert for Long-eared Owl. Then, too, there is always the rare chance of encountering montane vagrants such as Townsend's Solitaire and Clark's Nutcracker. Cattle Egrets have been seen following livestock on ranches just outside of Portola as well. Among rarities, David Suddjian saw a Northern Parula here in 2005, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in 2003.
While it is possible to bird some of the area by car, the extensive trail network beckons the walking birder. The Coyote Ridge and Iverson trails of Portola and the Pomponio trail linking the state and county parks especially recommend themselves to birders. Historically, Portola has been less disturbed by extraction and has more old-growth redwood than the contiguous county parks. For those with more time a variety of camping options are available. Car camping sites at Portola can be reserved; see contact information below.
Mallard, Common Merganser, California Quail, Great Blue Heron (fly-over), Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite (fly-over), Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Marbled Murrelet, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Allen's Hummingbird, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Great Horned Owl, Vaux's Swift, White-throated Swift, Belted Kingfisher (uncommon here), Acorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker (uncommon here), Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided Flycatcher (uncommon migrant), Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Black Phoebe, Hutton's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, American Crow (unusual here), Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, House Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Wrentit, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting (unusual for this location), Purple Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Lesser Goldfinch
In this guide, "rarities" are defined as those species given an County Abundance Code of 4, 5, or 6.
Wild Turkey, Golden Eagle, Long-eared Owl, Spotted Owl (conjectural), Clark's Nutcracker, American Dipper (uncommon but expected here with diligent searching), Townsend's Solitaire, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler (2009), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2009), Black-and-white Warbler (2009)
From the intersection of SR35 with Page Mill Road and Alpine Road, take Alpine Road west for three windy miles. Turn left onto the well-marked Portola State Park Road, and follow this another three miles to the park entrance. Do not attempt to get here from the Alpine Road exit on I-280, as Alpine Road deadends in the town of Portola Valley (see Coal Creek Open Space Preserve entry on this website for a description of the excellent birding along the closed portion of Alpine Road). If coming from I-280, take either SR 84 through Woodside, or Page Mill Road through Palo Alto, to reach SR35 and the Alpine Road entry to Portola Redwoods SP.
The standard day use fee of $6.00 applies; for camping rates, contact the park directly at 650-948-9098.
The hours of the park are dependent on a number of factors, including fire danger, weather, and season. It is best to call ahead, especially if you are thinking of camping: 650-948-9098.
Mountain lions have been known to breed near the park; every year there are verified sightings. There are ticks and poison oak, too, though their presence is minimal within the redwood forest.
If you hear a Spotted Owl while visiting this park, it is imperative that you get a picture (at an Ivory-billed Woodpecker level of imperative). Otherwise, you hazard disbelief and skepticism! But if this endangered species (re-)establishes itself anywhere in San Mateo County, this park is one of the most likely candidates.
Portola Redwoods State Park is so under-visited and under-birded, that it was one of forty-eight parks targeted for closure by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008. Fortunately, those closures did not come to pass.
Because this park has camp sites, there are restrooms and showers. However, there is no food or gas anywhere near the park: plan ahead. The nearest supplies are at least a thirty, more likely a forty-five, minute drive away. Part of the charm of this park consists in its isolation.
The park office can be reached at 650-948-9098. Family campgrounds can be reserved by calling 800-444-7275.
Portola Redwoods SP is a hotspot in eBird, with thirty-two of forty-eight calendar quadrants with data, documenting 90 species. The remoteness of this park reduces birder visits, but let's fill in the remaining empty spaces! Record your sightings at eBird. The eBird hotspot general information page is here.
David Suddjian (whose records are in eBird) conducted intensive Marbled Murrelet surveys in this park for over a decade in the early years of the twenty-first century. Portola Redwoods State Park constitutes one of the best nesting habitats for this diminutive seabird. Arrive before dawn to listen for their flight calls, which have a gull-like mewing quality; good listening posts are mentioned in the description above.
The place reference page on iNaturalist can be found here. It confirms that this park is one of the best places in the county for newts, salamander, fungi and lichens.
Sequoia Audubon Society sponsored field trips here for four consecutive years in the 1960s, but not since! Prospective field trip leaders take note!
The western edges of this park were affected by the CZU Complex Fires in August-September 2020. Please join the iNaturalist project charting the response to this fire - the largest in southwestern San Mateo county in over a century - by visiting its home page here.
Author: Al DeMartini and Jennifer Rycenga, Uploaded: