santa cruz mountains


  • Henry Cowell: Day Hike (6 miles)

    Henry Cowell: Day Hike (6 miles)

    My goal is to hike once every week. On Sunday, June 14th, we visited Henry Cowell State Park, which is more than 4,650 acres of forested and open land in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It can be a 15-minute drive if we started hiking from the entrance closest to us, but we started from the…


  • Big Basin State Park: Day Hike

    Big Basin State Park: Day Hike

    My goal is to hike once every week, and this weekend we decided to visit Big Basin State Park, which is about 50 minutes from us, and in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s been since January 20109 since we had last visited, therefore it was time to visit again. It just opened…


  • The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park: Day Hike

    The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park: Day Hike

    My goal is to hike once every week, and this weekend we decided to visit the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, which is about 15 minutes from us. We visited this park as a practice hike for Pacific Crest Trail in January 2017, and we visited with friends two years ago. Therefore…


  • Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve: Day Hike: 5 miles

    Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve: Day Hike: 5 miles

    My goal is to hike once every week, and this weekend we decided to visit Bear Creek Redwoods. Stephen worked for Midpeninsula Regional Open Space as a seasonal for a few years. His last season, he spent much time at the Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Reserve. I heard several stories about building the trails…