Palo Colorado Canyon, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Palo Colorado Canyon
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Home on Palo Colorado Road
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 Palo Colorado Canyon
Location in California
Palo Colorado Canyon
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Monterey County |
| Elevation | 112 ft (34 m) |
Palo Colorado Canyon is an unincorporated community in the Big Sur region of Monterey County, California. The canyon entrance is located 11.3 miles (18.2 km) south of the Carmel River at the former settlement of Notley's Landing, 6.5 miles (10 km) north of Point Sur, and at an elevation of 112 feet (34 m).
Contents
Etymology
Arroyo de Palo Colorado was first named on a diseño, a hand-drawn descriptive map of Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, that was submitted by José Castro to the Land Claims Commission in 1853 to prove his title to the rancho.
Palo Colorado Road
The entrance to the Palo Colorado Road is at the former settlement at Notley's Landing and its intersection with the Big Sur Coast Highway. The first 3 miles (4.8 km) of road winds through a Redwood tree-lined canyon alongside Palo Colorado Creek. It then climbs sharply up the Murray Grade to the top of Green Ridge and the Mid Coast Fire Brigade fire station and into the Rocky Creek watershed. It then climbs again up Long Ridge to a point known locally as The Hoist and into the Bixby Creek watershed. The name for "The Hoist" came about because during the turn of the century sleds (nicknamed "Go-Devils") or wagon-loads of tanbark and lumber were lowered by block and tackle down the steep Murray Grade portion of the road. The old pulley is still chained to a long wooden beam labeled "The Hoist" that supports mailboxes. The road ended at this point until 1950, when the US Army Corps of Engineers began a construction project to extend the road to the North fork of the Little Sur River and future site of Camp Pico Blanco.
The road connects to several private roads to the north. Garrapatos Road connects to the Big Sur Land Trust's Glen Deven Ranch. From the top of Murray Grade, an unpaved road follows Green Ridge and at "The Hoist", another follows Long Ridge. Both are used to access private residences and as fire emergency routes.
When fully open, the road ends after 7.4 miles (11.9 km) at Bottchers Gap, at 2,050 feet (620 m) altitude, the site of former homesteader John Bottcher's cabin in 1885–90. It is currently a primitive campsite and trail head into the Ventana Wilderness and the Los Padres National Forest. A locked gate provides access to a 3.3 miles (5.3 km) long private unpaved road leading to Camp Pico Blanco.
Closure
The last five-mile segment of Palo Colorado Road was heavily damaged in January 2017. Heavy rains caused debris to block a culvert under the road and Rocky Creek overflowed Palo Colorado Road at mile marker 3.3. The floods resulted from runoff from lands burnt by the Soberanes Fire. Monterey County installed a temporary bridge at Rocky Creek.
The county repaired the road where it crosses Rocky Creek in 2018, but slipouts farther east on the road remain and the road as of June 2020[update] remains closed. The rains caused considerable additional damage to the road between The Hoist at milepost 4.0 and Bottcher's Gap at milepost 7.4. In August, 2018, the county installed a security gate at The Hoist to prevent non-residents from proceeding further. Camp Pico Blanco, Mill Creek Redwood Preserve, the Little Sur River trailhead on the Old Coast Road, and the Bottchers Gap campground and trail head are closed. About 60 homes are in the area beyond the closure.
The county estimates the four projects in that area will cost about $11 million. The county does not have sufficient funds to repair the entire road and is applying for federal grants. The cost for all of all repairs along the road from milepost 1.0 to 7.4 at Bottcher's Gap is about $20 million.
History
Early homesteaders in the Palo Colorado Canyon region included Samuel L. Trotter (January 23, 1914), George Notley (March 21, 1896), and his brother William F. Notley (May 8, 1901),
William Notley took over Mortan's patent. Swetnam and Trotter worked for the Notley brothers, who harvested Redwood in the Santa Cruz area and expanded operations to include tanbark in the mountains around Palo Colorado Canyon. Swetnam married Adelaide Pfeiffer and bought the Notley home at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon for their residence. He also constructed two cabins and a small barn on his patent along the Little Sur River at the site of the future Pico Blanco camp.
Fire impact
Historical fires
In 1906, a fire that began in Palo Colorado Canyon from the embers of a campfire burned for 35 days, scorching an estimated 150,000 acres (61,000 ha), and was finally extinguished by the first rainfall of the season.
On August 26, 1924, a fire started in Danish Creek in the Carmel River watershed. It burned 49,400 acres (20,000 ha) until it was extinguished by rainfall on October 4. This was the largest fire for more than 50 years, until the Marble Cone Fire in 1977.
In October, 2007, a fire broke out in a residence in the canyon and spread to nearby brush. About 50 acres (20 ha) were burned. While fighting the fire, Matthew Will, a bulldozer operator with CalFire, was killed when his bulldozer rolled down a steep slope.
2016 Soberanes fire
The July 2016 Soberanes Fire was caused by unknown individuals who started and lost control of an illegal campfire in the Garrapata Creek watershed. During the first few days of the fire, it destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings in the Garrapata and Palo Colorado Canyon areas. Fire fighters were able to build lines around parts of the Big Sur community. Robert Oliver Reagan, a bulldozer operator, was killed when his equipment overturned during night operations in Palo Colorado Canyon.
Population
The United States does not define a census-designated place called Palo Colorado Canyon, but it does define a ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA), 93923 which extends north to include parts of Carmel Valley and Carmel-by-the-Sea, so it is not possible to obtain census data for the canyon itself.
As of 2004[update], there were about 300 households in the Palo Colorado Canyon area. The residents raised $300,000 to build a firehouse to house the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade, an all-volunteer unit that offers fire protection to the area.
