Stadium Park

Sep 21, 2011 by cnps2011

Sunday, October 23, 9:30 am

Stadium Park, Atascadero Field Trip

Join ALPS (Atascadero Land Preservation Society) members for an autumn outing in the north County.

Located on Pine Mountain within the city of Atascadero, this park is a jewel in the middle of the city. The park has well established Gray Pine and Blue Oak woodland as well as the Bill Shepard Native Plant Garden with 70 natives listed in the garden. Another interesting area, Adobe Springs, will also be visited.

Meet at 9:30 am in the parking lot of the Plaza del Camino Center (on the south side of Rite Aid) at the corner of Highways 101 and 41.

Total time at the two sites will be 2.5 to 3 hours. The trail at Stadium Park is 1.5 miles with a few hundred feet elevation gain; the hike to Adobe Springs is short.

Bring adequate water, snacks, and dress in layers for the weather; a hat and sturdy shoes are advised.

For additional information contact Bill Waycott at (805) 459-2103 or bill.waycott@gmail.com.

Native Plants Field Trip - Stadium Park Atascadero

Dedication of the Bill Shepard Native Garden by the ALPS organization, May 2010

Supervisor Jim Patterson honors Bill Shepard's contribution to the native plant garden at Stadium Park. Bill is sitting in the chair.

Field trip report: Visit to Atascadero area: Stadium Park and Adobe Springs, 23rd October 2011

Ten CNPS members joined members of the Atascadero Land Preservation Society (ALPS) at Stadium Park.

Bruce Bonifas introduced us to the organization and the excellent Bill Shepard Memorial Garden. The garden has a plant identification map and is nicely laid out, so we recommend a visit (plant list available at: http://www.supportalps.org/BillShepardGarden_brochure.pdf). The garden was once a favorite cruising area for off-road vehicles and was “rescued” by ALPS. Mike Orvis, John Goers, and Doug Chisholm of ALPS took us on several trails in Stadium Park.

We climbed gently sloping trail up the southwest facing side of Pine Mountain among blue oaks and gray pine and then chamise, redberry, and black sage. There were a scattering of late season flowers and very fine views in all directions.

We returned through the natural bowl that has been a setting for events and concerts but is still relatively undeveloped. We then drove to an ongoing ALPS project, the Adobe Springs which are adjacent to Traffic Way and northeast of downtown. It is marked by a small island of willows and dogwoods supported by perennial springs and seeps. We ducked through the thick understory to find the largest spring which had an impressive flow. The spring was used by early homesteaders, and some of their original European grapevines still exist today. ALPS intends to keep this area in a natural state, but all their attention is now being directed to the “Three Bridges Project” on land they have obtained along Highway 41 west of town.

For more information about the ALPS organization: http://www.supportalps.org/ALPS/Welcome.html

–BillWaycott