This checked all my boxes for a great hike: woodsy, water, scenic, peaceful, moderate, posted…read moresigns, and free parking was a bonus. We arrived around 10:15 am on a Thursday, and there were still a few parking spots in their smallish parking lot. I'm sure you'd have to come much earlier on the weekend. There's a map of the various trails. We decided to do a loop of: Fall Creek - S-cape - Ridge trail - back to parking lot. The Fall Creek section was very easy, and you're walking along the creek with a few small waterfalls to admire. A couple of times you cross over the creek, but there are planks to walk on. I couldn't stop taking pictures during this section. There's a bit of elevation when you get to the Ridge trail section, but nothing too bad. The only thing to be cautious of is the abundance of poison oak. There are some narrow paths where the poison oak was spilling over from both sides of the path. TIP: wear long pants. This is a hike that I'd come back to.

#641 #1/25 A very…read moreBeLated review of '23 summer hike... til next visit to a Lusher forest :) Started from Big Ben near Bonny Doon airport to Fall Creek and return. Climb Dry rebirth after the fire Me n this Forest Scenery is an old growth forest with little ground cover other than Redwood sorrels after the fire. Entirely canopied, easy and well kept but a steep trail. Heard owls at the top near Big Ben, a squirrel, few birds and some grasshoppers. Otherwise pretty quiet. Fall Creek had steady water flowing and a tiny waterfall at the time of my visit. Pups are NOT allowed here. Less visited old growth forest as the trail is continuous elevation down to Fall Creek and back up to Big Ben. A couple of crossing to HC Lime Kilns where the lime was used to rebuild SFO post 1906 earthquake and to Lost Empire. Signals were virtually nonexistent and the BBT is NOT marked! I took pictures of the Trail descriptions and maps prior to and that was helpful. Go with someone who is familiar with these trails or download descriptions and good trail mapS. Felton Empire Rd runs through it. There is NO parking lot or any signs to per se. Once you find the trail, you can park on the shoulder. Pro tip: It's MUCH easier to find and start from Bennet Creek to Fall Creek Trailhead as there is a parking lot off Felton Road. About 3 to 8.4 miles hike depending on the trails (partial loop) you choose with little to ~1500 ft elevation if you hike to Big Ben and entire loop (8.4 miles). Recommend water, protein bars and comfortable shoes.

I often stop here for a picnic on my ride on the rail trail from Santa Cruz. The new trail…read moreextension to Davenport is almost complete!! Wilder ranch is such a great place. I bought a patch last weekend. Can't wait to eat another picnic lunch here while biking between Santa Cruz and Davenport!

Went out for a hike on the trails at the beginning of July. The trails are very open and exposed,…read moreand not very well marked to start. We hiked the Wilder Ridge trail loop and hiked up the wider side of the trail and came down on the north side which is a single track that passes right next to a landfill dump. I recommend the wide trail, but not the single track. There were alot of ticks on the trail, we assume that they got picked up on the single track we took to return on. Make sure to check for ticks if you hike out there.

Tucked along the Santa Cruz County coast near Davenport, this 5,800-acre land of the California…read moreCoastal National Monument just opened to the public. It is quite magical and special! What you will find are wildly diverse landscapes of Redwood groves, coastal bluffs, grasslands, and wildflowers all in one hike. There is steelhead in the streams, mountain lions in the hills, hawks overhead, and yes, even grazing cows This places offer several trails which will fit almost for everyone. Easy loops like Hawk Trail and Tree Trail, and tougher trails for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. Permit required for horses and some certain bikes on some trails. There's a secret hidden gem as a way to access to undeveloped pocket beaches like Shark Fin Cove. Huge free parking lot! Dogs are welcome on leash. Cotoni Coast Daries is relatively new to the public alr iconic. If you love the California coast, this is a must-see. Don't sleep on it.

We were excited to explore a new trail in the area that is also dog friendly! We had prepared to do…read moreboth the Hawk (Káknu) and Tree (Huyya) trails but decided to stick to the Hawk (Káknu) only. It's exposed and quite dusty so plan accordingly -- primarily sun protection. There were friendly hikers and bikers on the trail and the views were quite beautiful! I also appreciated many of the bench's set up along the trails too. The restrooms were clean. The only thing I wished for was a sink or some way to wash hands at the restroom area.

I've only hiked about 16 miles of this trail, but my oh my is it absolutely breathtaking! This is…read moretruly a hiker's and backpacker's dream trail. I've hiked about 8 miles of this trail through Castle Rock State Park and another 8 miles through Big Basin Redwoods State Park. I hiked this trail with a friend last year up to Berry Creek Falls and it was absolutely stunning! The actual trail itself is almost 30 miles long and stretches from the Santa Cruz Mountains all the way to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The trail begins at the Saratoga Gap which is a ridge within the Santa Cruz Mountains. It makes its' way up the coast past the Pacific Ocean, then through the beautiful mountains of Castle Rock State Park, and finally through the amazing Redwoods within Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This trail has such an amazing variation of different terrains. From your typical coastal ridge paths, to hilly and mountainous inclines, to flat and paved excursions through the Redwoods; this trail seems to simply have it all. I'd have to say that my favorite section of this trail was definitely being able to hike through the Redwoods. Big Basin is California's oldest park and you'll get to see the most amazing old growth Redwood trees. I've always been fascinated by Redwoods, so exploring them while on this trail was so much fun. Aside from the Redwoods, the stretch of this trail through Big Basin is extremely green and filled with a plethora of different plant species and vibrant flowers. And of course, there's Berry Creek Falls which is pretty much the icing on the cake. This waterfall is beautiful and worth the extra miles to get there. I can't forget to mention the incredible rock formations that you'll see while hiking the section that goes through Castle Rock State Park. These views are equally mesmerizing. It's definitely a great workout as much of the trail ascends and descends through the mountains. Lots of water is must and I would recommend bug spray (at least for the portion that runs through Big Basin). I would love to hike the rest of this trail at some point and hopefully make it down to the beach one day. Either way, any hike along this trail will be enjoyable whether it's 5 miles or 30. Would highly recommend this hike if you're planning on visiting Big Basin Redwoods, Castle Rock, Sanborn County Park, or Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve.

What a fantastic trail! 30+ miles over 3 days starting at Castle Rock campground to Waddell Beach…read more(stopping at Waterman Campground and Jay Campground at the Big Basin HQ). Almost all shaded by the trees (lots of redwoods!) and fantastic scenery the entire time, will well marked trails. You pretty much can't get lost at all. If you do, you deserve to get lost! Also all these campsites have piped drinking water and pit toilets so you probably don't need to bring your water pump. You'll need to make these reservations quite early too since they're pretty limited. State park # is (831) 338-8861 to make the reservations. NIGHT 0: Castle Rock Campground. We ended up not actually staying here because we thought (and there wasn't anything that indicated otherwise) that the campground was right at the trailhead. Instead it's 2.7 miles in. Thus as we had prepared for car camping the first night and were meeting others the next morning at the trailhead, we decided to find another campground elsewhere that was next to the road. Parking at Castle Rock trailhead gets crazy packed on the weekends so come early! The parking lot also closes at sunset so you'll need to make sure your car is in before then. DAY 1: This will be the most "complicated" path since you have to take a couple different trails. As you hike towards Castle Rock (assuming you didn't stay there the night before), you'll see a bunch of day climbers and boulderers. Gorgeous views above the tree skyline along the way. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/skyline-to-the-sea-trail-davenport?select=mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw#yvfjWy3mdAw7PSTrD67dWw After you past Castle Rock, take the Travertine Springs Trail for ~2 miles which will connect to the Saratoga toll road trail for another mile until you hit an uphill dirt road on your right. It's 0.4 miles going up a couple hundred feet so not too bad. This will take you to the Skyline to the Sea trail (finally!) in which you'll take this for another ~2.6 miles to Waterman camp. You'll hug Highway 9 pretty closely so you'll see a couple abandoned cars that fell off the road. This one more recent. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/skyline-to-the-sea-trail-davenport?select=mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw#QekFu-9mgaN6xt7NUH5KsA. And this one from a while ago! http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/skyline-to-the-sea-trail-davenport?select=mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw#UnpOYfPqPlJ-impxBrz65A NIGHT 1: Waterman Gap Campground Your instinct may be to tucker down at the sites right around the pit toilet. My advice is to walk a little further towards the back to sites 5 and 6. It's a a bit extra of a hike but totally worth it since you get your privacy. Campsite isn't too far from Highway 9 too so you may hear some speedracers zooming by at night like we did. This is also the first (and only) area where you do get cell phone reception. DAY 2: You pretty much stay on Skyline to the Sea trail the entire way from here now. Your goal now is to get to the Jay Campground at Big Bason HQ. You still hug the road sometimes and even cross it a couple times. Again gorgeous views along here. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/skyline-to-the-sea-trail-davenport?select=mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw#WIfT7_JSDYc7zXVP0uHMWA NIGHT 2: Jay Campground You're at the park HQ so good time to stock up on stuff or get a bit of real food if you're tired of your freeze dried! THEY DO HAVE BEER THOUGH. And showers too (1 quarter = 2 min), The camp shop does not carry propane for Jet Boilers in case you run out like we did. However you can ask them to use their hot water though to heat up your freeze dried foods. DAY 3: You're almost there! A slight change in scenery here. No more hugging highways and more bridge crossing and waterfalls. Oh and way more banana slugs. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/skyline-to-the-sea-trail-davenport?select=mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw#mjXU08P2ueRqY-WvlfHxSw I swear, the last ~3 miles felt like FOREVER. The trail opens wider and the trees start thinning in front of you which makes you constantly feel like you're almost there. Then you immediately smell the salty ocean breeze and which iswhen you know you're at the end!

I love this place it's fantastic go here when it's a day after a holiday it'll be no one!read more

Wow! What a beautiful trail…read more My boyfriend and I did this trail as well as part of the skyline to the sea trail. There were a few detours that allowed us to complete a nice, lengthy 3.4 mile round trip to relax in the afternoon. The Redwood Loop Nature Trail is an easy and very short trail featuring the father of the forest and the mother of the forest. There are railings protecting the large redwoods, but even so, it's a very beautiful site. There isn't a lot of difficulty on this loop, as it's very flat and there isn't much incline. It's also the first trail you can do upon entering the park, as well as having the option to do much more difficult neighboring trails! This one in particular is great for kids. It can get muddy and there are a lot of mosquitoes! Definitely bring bug spray.

The actual walkway is a short dirt and gravel trail, several blocks long, stretching from Plateau…read moreAvenue to West Cliff Drive where I got to enjoy scenic views looking over the ocean at sunset. A great place to be alone with your thoughts, or to take a stroll with loved ones. There's lots of grass, trees, and memorial benches along the winding pathway, as well as lovely neighborhood homes, as it runs through a residential area. Simply beautiful and well-maintained, with free street parking easy to find nearby. Note, I experienced spotty cell service here, so don't expect internet access while in the vicinity.

Seems like brown dry grassland for 1st. 1/2 mile. Then the creek is an overgrown trickle of water…read more I'd recommend staying on other side of highway & hiking along the cliffs & beaches.

When in Santa Cruz come to Moore Creek Preserve. Local Meetup groups frequent this and t's a fun…read morewalk when in a group

West Cliff Drive is a scenic route starting downtown at the pier that winds along the rugged…read morecoastline northward to the Natural Bridges Park. This beautiful path is approximately 3 miles long which can be enjoyed by walking, biking or a slow ride in one's vehicle. A good portion of the route is wheelchair accessible. It is a great route to enjoy the sights and sounds of the abundant marine life including seals and dolphins, the waters of the Pacific ocean and Monterey Bay, fantastic views of the rugged coastline, and the waters full of surfers at iconic Steamer Lane. There are a few parking spots along the way. The parking lot at the north end of West Cliff Drive can fill up quickly.

Gffmjjjjjhhhyyggggghgyysggshsgehhdhdhdhhdhdhdhdhehehhehebbrjjdjfjcjkckcncnfnfnfjcjcnncnvvnvncjvkread more