Portola Redwoods State Park was originally frequented by the Ohlone people, who gathered acorns, berries, nuts, herbs and basket-making materials throughout the area. European exploration began in the late 1700s, and by the time of the gold rush, the Ohlone population had severely declined. The gold rush spurred waves of immigrants and settlers, creating a huge demand for timber. Redwoods were logged in response to this influx of people.

Christian Iverson was the first European settler in this area. He built himself a cabin along Pescadero Creek in the 1860's and split redwood shakes for a living. Reputed to have worked as a pony express rider, his name is not listed as a rider in available records of the St. Louis to San Francisco Pony Express. However he may have ridden for one of the local express agencies.
In the 1880's Iverson served as a bodyguard for Mrs. Harry Love, wife of the man who captured the famous outlaw Murieta. During a jealous rage, Captain Love opened fire on Mrs. Love and Iverson, wounding them both. Iverson returned the fire and mortally wounded Captain Love. Mrs. Love later died of her wounds. Iverson sold his holdings to lumber interests in 1889 and moved on.

William Page was born in New York and came to California in 1850 at the age of 18 to try his hand in the mines. He was quickly successful and returned east to his home. He returned again to California in 1852 to work in the gold fields. Although he was unsuccessful in this second venture, he managed to get by. After securing employment with a sawmill in La Honda, he went to Mayfield (present day Palo Alto) and established his own lumberyard.

William Page was a skillful timberland manipulator, and by the end of 1852 he was supplying logs to the mills of the Searsville area, near present day Portola Valley. He built his own shingle mill on Peter's Creek. Trees were selectively logged, and judged suitable for shingles only if they very straight grain so they could be split properly. He later moved the mill to Slate Creek, just east of the present day Slate Creek Backpacking Trail Camp. He established a haul road that connected the mills to the Embarcadero in Palo Alto. This haul road was later named Page Mill Road and still exists today though in a much-improved state.

After purchasing this selectively logged redwood acreage in 1924, The Islam Shrine, a body of the Masonic Lodge, developed the area for its members' use. John A. Hooper, who sold the property to them, had specified that "its natural beauty would be maintained." In their policy statement, the lodge continued this philosophy. The 1925 Islam Redwood Shrine Grove rules are very similar to current park regulations.

They built cabins, kitchens, restrooms, a stage and a recreation hall which is the present day Visitor Center. They would have gatherings with hundreds sometimes thousands of people, coming from as far away as San Francisco. They held dances in the recreation hall that would last all night before they retreated to their cabins to rest.

During World War II, there was a loss in membership, and interest in the grove declined. This prompted the lodge to sell it to the state in 1945 to become a State Park.