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    > Ladybug Hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    Ladybug Hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    To the many mysteries of winter and animal survival techniques, you can now add colonies of ladybugs clustered on trees like holly berries on a frosty December morning.

    Each year from November through February, thousands, if not millions, of the kids’ favorite red bugs converge to Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA, surfing the right winds to the exact spot their folks converged to in previous years. And then, they throw massive “pajama parties” or leaf huddle cuddles. Spoon position, everyone!

    This winter, you can schlep the kids to Oakland and guarantee they’ll see something unique–handfuls of ladybugs. Here is how I found them on this ladybug hike.

    Wintering Ladybugs at Reinhardt Redwood Park

    I’d heard about Reinhardt Redwood Park’s ladybugs but didn’t want to disappoint my young hikers. After all, it’s a 3-mile round trip to see these little creatures and I had to get the info right. A ranger at the East Bay Regional Park District suggested I check the junction of Stream Trail and Prince Trail, starting from the Skyline Gate. That’s exactly what I did.

    Trailhead at Redwood Regional Park

    Equipped with my “hot cocoa” kit (thermos of hot water and tiny marshmallows), I hit the trail with 3 girls between 6 and 8 years of age.

    From the Skyline Gate parking lot, Stream Trail gently goes down as a wide dirt path into the canyon surrounded by oak and pine woodlands.

    Nature bingo card in child's hands

    Playing nature bingo and checking off boxes with nature icons, the girls walked effortlessly though one element wanted to know if we were close. “Soon,” I said, “but not yet – keep looking for ladybugs.”  I looked at my trail map but since there’s only one trail, it was hard to get sidetracked.

    How to Spot Wintering ladybugs

    Just before Eucalyptus Trail, we saw our first ladybug colonies. “Where are they?” asked the girls. It’s like when you look at a pointillist painting up close. You don’t know what the painting is all about until you step back and take a second look.

    Children pointing at overwintering ladybug colonies, Redwood Regional Park

    With ladybugs you look at a regular stump surrounded by dried grasses and blink twice before you realize the grasses are swarming with ladybugs.

    Stump covered in overwintering ladybug colonies, Redwood Regional Park

    Yes, swarming is the right word – they are literally everywhere you look. Our ladybug hike was getting interesting!

    Bug box with two ladybugs inside, Redwood Regional Park

    The girls giggled and couldn’t believe their eyes. They started singing “Ladybug, ladybug, oh lady-ladybug” and scoured the area to find more bugs. Good, I had their attention now. “Wait, we are going to find more. Keep walking!”

    Trail in the redwoods, Redwood Regional Park

    We just had another half mile to go to the junction of Stream Trail and Prince Trail so that was easy. Plus, now we were thick in redwood forests by the creek and the girls were chasing each other on the trail. Oh, it was so pretty.

    Finally we reached the promised junction. At first, we didn’t see anything. “Where are they?” OK we might be candid but we were really expecting to find them waiting for us with a big ladybug banner at the junction.

    That’s when we looked towards the creek. The fence posts and gate had a reddish coloration. We stepped closer. Bingo!

    Ladybug Bonanza

    Hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Passing hikers told me this was just the beginning, that there would be much more as the winter got colder. I was dumbfounded.

    Hundreds of overwintering ladybugs, Redwood Regional Park

    This was way more than the square foot patch I had anticipated. Wow! The girls were going “ooh” and “aah” and “ooh” and “aah” again, pulling on my sleeve to show me their findings. Ah the excitement!

     

    To celebrate, we popped the “hot cocoa” kit and sat on the bench (at the junction) to refuel before our hike back. Rare are the opportunities you can go in nature and expect to see wildlife at a given point. It makes you appreciate the Bay Area even more.

    Return Route | Make It a Loop!

    For our hike back, we opted to go the ridge route to add variety to our scenery. We turned left (north) up Prince Trail, spotted mushrooms on the way up – including a really cool orange jelly fungus called Witch’s Butter – and at the top turned left (north-west) on East Ridge Trail.

    Fungus on stump, Redwood Regional Park

    The views were beautiful and a few well thought benches provided perfect vista points on the redwood mountains. Our ladybug hike was proving to be more than we anticipated.

    As winter afternoons go, the day was getting darker and I knew the sun would set in less than an hour. I encouraged the girls to hurry up and after they found pine cones to kick, it was a literally a walk in the woods.

    “Mom, I know what I want to do on hikes – kick pine cones!” said the 6-year old who kicked the same pine cone on the last quarter mile.

    Bench on top of hill, Redwood Regional Park

    We made it back to the car just around twilight, making the ladybug hike a 2-hour affair including  hot cocoa and ladybug breaks. Not bad to uncover a winter mystery.

    Practical Details to Spot Wintering Ladybugs in the Bay Area

    Redwood Regional Park trail map
    • Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park Trail Map – Click here
    • The Skyline Gate is roughly half way between Joaquin Miller Road and Sibley Volcanic Regional Park on Skyline Boulevard.
    • Free parking
    • Do not collect ladybugs
    • November through February

    Directions

    17 thoughts on “Ladybug Hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    1. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve seen them there before, but the time of year never fixed itself in my brain. Now we have a place to take our granddaughter next time she’s over.

    2. Oh – and apparently it’s just the beginning. There will be way more when the temperature drops. Isn’t that amazing?

    3. Wow—those photos are unreal! I love the emphasis on embracing local opportunities to get out in nature. I was up in Sonoma over the weekend, and took a hike up Baldy Mountain. National Parks are spectacular (and California is certainly blessed with these), but in a lot of ways a state park that’s a little more humble (and not overflowing with people!) is a nice refreshing experience.

    4. Thank you so much for the tip. We went today. It was so amazing. Once, a long time ago, I saw something similar in the south bay. I had no idea they did it every year and in the same spot.

      1. Hi Diana, it would be an awesome outing for cub scoots and November might not be too early if the temperatures are right. Since the ladybugs gather in clusters to winterize, it’s more a question of cold than month. If you call the East Bay Regional Parks, they’ll be able to tell you but I’ll also try to find out on my end.

    5. Thank you so much for the info! I’m hoping to take my 3 and 6 year old on this hike next week – would a B.O.B. stroller be able to handle the trail? Thanks!!

      1. Hello Lindsay, I was enjoying the Spanish outdoors when you went! Did you go with the BOB stroller in the end? There are a few steep parts but the trail should be ok. Thanks!

    6. Thank you for posting the details and suggestion for Nature bingo! I hope to take them out this weekend. We’ve missed it every year!

    7. I was at this park this last weekend Jan 26 2019. At the skyline, prince, and stream hike. No Lady Bugs??
      Are there no ladybugs this year? Is there anyway I can find out if they are there before I make 1 1/2 hour drive??

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