40th Annual NRS Management Workshop
October 3–5, 2023
Angelo Coast Range Reserve
42101 Wilderness Lodge Road
Branscomb, CA 94517
Reserve details
The Angelo Reserve’s facilities are not centralized in one area but located at three different sites along a narrow gravel road. These sites consist of the science center entry complex, the old Angelo homestead 1.3 miles inside the reserve from the science center complex, and the Wilderness Lodge/Fox Creek Lodge complex 1.3 miles from the Angelo homestead.
Angelo Coast Range Reserve map PDF
Science Center Complex
At the science center complex there are two 2-bedroom apartments each with a double bed, two twins, and full bath and kitchen. There is a bunkhouse for apartment overflow with 4 bunks/8beds with no privacy (open room without partitions) and no bathroom. Bunkhouse users use a bathroom in an apartment or one of two bathrooms in the adjacent science center. There is plenty of room around the apartments for tenting, and other flat areas where up to 4-5 camper vans can park (no hook-ups.)
Old Angelo homestead
The old Angelo homestead is where all meeting business will be conducted and where dinners and lunches will be served. The homestead house has three bedrooms, two with queen beds, one with a pair of twins. It has a full bathroom. There is ample room adjacent to the homestead house for tenting and camper vans, and two outhouses. No hook-ups are available.
Wilderness Lodge and Fox Creek Lodge
Wilderness Lodge and Fox Creek Lodge are adjacent to each other. Wilderness Lodge is a small, fully self-contained, 3-bedroom cabin with a full bathroom and kitchen. Each room has a double bed. Fox Creek Lodge is the reserve group facility with a dinning hall, 5 small bunk cabins that each sleep 4 (in two bunks) and a separate shower/bathroom building. There is ample room for tents in the area around Wilderness/Fox Creek Lodge. Transit-style camper vans at Wilderness/Fox Creek are not recommended.
Road conditions
The reserve road is passable for all but the lowest clearance vehicles. It is not suitable for trailers or large cab-over campers. Standard height/mid-range wheelbase high top (8’6”) transit camper vans are passable, but additional roof attachments higher than solar panels are not recommended.
Meeting agenda
Tuesday, October 3
Arrival by 3:00
5:00 ED Presentation
6:00 Dinner
7:00 True Stories
Wednesday, October 4
7:00 Breakfast
8:00-8:30 Team building
8:30-9:20 NRS Field Safety Plan Template, Code of Conduct, Field Safety Center for Excellence Updates
9:30-12:00 Behavioral First Aid
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Lightning talks
2:00 Systemwide Q&A
3:00 Team Building–scavenger hunt
4:00-6:00 Hike/free time/research talk
6:00 Dinner
Thursday, October 5
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 RAMS
10:00-12:00 Closed session (Reserve Staff only)
10:00 Webinar brainstorming
11:00 Manager/Stewards/Admins meeting
12:00 Lunch
Departure
Arrival notes
Please make every effort to minimize the amount of travel back and forth along the 3 miles of road that separate each cluster of facilities. Do your best to arrive at the reserve by 3:00 pm on Day 1 (Oct. 3) to give yourself time to find your housing/camping location and settle in before the meeting commences at 5:00 pm at the old Angelo homestead.
Weather
Mornings will be chilly (frosty) and we’re meeting outside under a tent. Afternoons should be pleasant. Rain? Maybe. Check the forecast and plan/pack accordingly.
What to pack
Sleeping bag and pillow, sleeping pad (those assigned a room will have a bed, there are a few pads in the Fox Creek bunkhouses,) tent if you’re camping, towel, personal toiletries, headlamp (it’s dark here with lots of stuff to trip over) layers (check the forecast, it will be chilly for morning meeting sessions and after dark) swimsuit (check the forecast) but the river will be cold, walking/hiking shoes, musical instruments for around the campfire, mountain bike.
Directions
To get to the reserve take Hwy 101 north or south to Laytonville (about 3 hours n. of the Bay Area, 3 hours s. of Eureka, 3 hours from Sacramento via Interstate 5 to Hwy 20 to Hwy 101) and turn west onto the Branscomb Rd. Travel about 16 miles to fork in the road and go right onto Wilderness Lodge Rd. (If you are coming from the coast, go east on Branscomb Rd. and travel just under 10 miles to a left turn onto Wilderness Lodge Rd. Note there is no road sign for east-heading drivers.)
After turning onto Wilderness Lodge Rd. from Branscomb Rd. DO NOT RELY on Google Maps or you might end up somewhere you do not want to be. Apple’s Maps app works just fine.
Wilderness Lodge Rd. is paved the first 2 miles, turning to gravel just after crossing the Eel River and continuing another 1.4 miles to the Angelo Reserve entrance area complex where the science center and the east and west apartments are located. Specific directions are provided for visitors whose housing is further inside the reserve. The day use parking area for public day users is located about 100 yards further beyond the entrance area complex near the reserve gate.
Accommodations
Reserve
For those assigned to stay at the entrance area in one of the apartments or the bunkhouse (or in an RV or van) you will be at your assigned housing when you first arrive at the reserve. For those staying further inside the reserve proceed to the reserve gate and travel 1.4 miles to the Angelo homestead or 2.8 miles to the Wilderness Lodge/Fox Creek Lodge complex.
Hotels
Hotel accommodations are located on the coast in Westport, 40 minutes from reserve:
Westport Hotel
2-night minimum
Mendocino Magic
AirBnB accommodation near Laytonville, 30 minutes from the reserve
3 bedrooms, 5 beds, sleeps 7
$400/ night