The Upper Lake at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
has had a very rich history. It began as
a sag pond, a depression created by the slippage of the San Andreas Fault. In the 1850’s the creek was dammed to create
a reservoir to provide power to a sawmill for harvesting redwood trees. Once the best redwoods had been cut, the lake
was part of the estate of three different owners. The first stocked the lake with trout and
turned it into a “fish ranch”. The next
two owners turned the property into lavish estates. Owner Dr. Tevis was a horticulturalist who
expanded the lake to store water to keep his many acres of gardens and orchards lush. His estate was so extensive he had a staff of 100 including 43 gardeners. After he died the estate was
purchased by the Jesuits who remodeled Tevis’s buildings into Alma College, a
school to train Jesuit priests. The
college was in operation from 1934 – 1969.
And yes, there was a Lower Lake, a popular place for the students to
swim.
This 1,432 acre preserve just opened this summer, and crews are still
completing the amenities. Upon arrival we
were disappointed to see that the crew was working on the ADA-accessible
pathways that surround the lake and only a small portion of the pathways were
available to us. Plus the crew was making lots of noise. But once everyone
looked around and picked a spot, there were plenty of spots for our 18 artists,
even if it meant that some of us had to sit closer together than usual. By lunchtime the crew had left and
we had peace and quiet to enjoy our lunch and sharing.
For more information about Bear Creek Redwoods OSP, visit: https://www.openspace.org/preserves/bear-creek-redwoods
For a superb interactive website about the history of the
area including many historical photos of the estates (including a building
purportedly designed by Julia Morgan) and of the Alma College campus (including a campus
tour which shows a fountain in Upper Lake and St. Joseph Shrine), visit:
For more photos from our paintsite, see Edward Rooks's Flickr album:
Upcoming paintsites: See the SCVWS website or the November Newsletter for details.
- Thursday, Nov 14, North: Charleston Slough, Palo Alto; South by reservation only: Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula
- Saturday, Nov 16, Folger Estate, Woodside
- Thursday, Nov 21, View of Hayes Mansion from Edenvale Gardens Regional Park, San Jose
- Thursday, Dec 5, Wildwood Park, Saratoga
- Thursday, Dec 12, Historic Murphy Avenue, Sunnyvale
- Thursday, Dec 19, Central Wholesale Nursery, San Jose
Artists and their artwork:
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Paintsite artists at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, Upper Lake
(photo by Edward) |
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Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, view from the Upper Lake Loop Trail
(photo by Edward) |
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Kaaren's watercolor of fall color at the Upper Lake,
Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve |
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| Kaaren's painting of Sham and John painting from above the lake |
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| Kaaren |
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Annie's watercolor painted from the eastern edge of the Bear Creek Redwoods
Upper Lake |
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Annie
(photo by Edward) |
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Carol and Helen
(photo by Edward) |
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| Helen's watercolor the redwoods, a filtered view of the Upper Lake |
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| Helen's's watercolor of the Upper Lake at Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve |
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| Carol's watercolor of the Upper Lake |
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| John (front), Sham and Edward (back) |
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| John's watercolor of the northwest edge of the Upper Lake |
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| Edward's painting of the Upper Lake at Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve |
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| Elaine |
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| Elaine's painting of the Upper Lake at Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve |
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Jane
(photo by Edward) |
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| Jane S's value study of the lake side |
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Marilyn
(photo by Edward) |
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Mindy
(photo by Edward) |
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| Mindy's watercolor of a liquid amber tree in magnificent fall color |
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| Mindy's watercolor of a liquid amber leaf |
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Mindy, painting on the northwest side of the lake near the Upper Lake Loop Trail
(photo by Edward) |
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Susan B-G
(photo by Edward) |
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| Susan's watercolor of the northwest view of the lake |
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| Indira |
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Indira's watercolor of light filtering through the forest,
at entrance to the Alma Trail, a steep trail leading away from
the lake and through shaded fir and redwood forests |
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| Rich's painting of the northwest side of the lake |
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| Cindy's painting of a brickwork grotto, a remnant of the now closed Alma College |
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| Matt's painting of a section of the Alma Trail |
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Broncha's painting of a wayward trail roller on the
Bear Creek Redwoods Upper Lake Loop Trail |
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| Paintsites Lunchtime on the Upper Lake Loop Trail |
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| Painsites artists take a lunch break (photo by Edward) |
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| Paintsites artwork on display (photo by Edward) |
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