True fact: Santa Cruz County, the smallest in the state of California, has 20 state parks and beaches. That might give us the highest natural beauty-per-capita rating in the state. And we’re no one-trick pony, either. We have sandy beaches, rocky beaches, redwood forests, oak grasslands, marine chaparral and an ecological oddity called the Santa Cruz Sandhills that’s an isolated relic of California’s prehistoric inland sea. For the whole story on local parks and beaches, visit www.santacruzstateparks.org. These are the ones that should under no circumstances be missed, even if you have to get there by musk ox.
Beaches
Panther Beach
Highway One between mileposts 95 and 96.
Some people believe this is the best beach in the world, which probably means they either had a meaningful romantic or a quasi-traumatic psychedelic experience here. Either is possible. Located 10 miles up the coast, Panther Beach is remote enough to encourage departure from normal behavior but close enough to be actually gotten to—in some cases by mobs intent on dancing in the moonlight. Melty-looking sandstone formations, cozy caves and trippy tidepools add to the allure of a nice stretch of sand. Careful of the waves, though. They bite.
Natural Bridges State Beach
West Cliff Drive at Swift Street, Santa Cruz. 831.423.4609
There used to be two “natural bridges” made of stone off the shore of this scenic beach. Then 1980 happened, and Ronald Reagan won the presidential election, and one of the bridges, a staunch Democrat, plotzed. Nah, not really. But it’s true that since 1980 the remaining natural bridge has enjoyed life as probably the single most photographed feature in Santa Cruz County. Try to ignore the embarrassing family and engagement photo shoots constantly being conducted here and instead focus on the great sand, excellent tidepooling and, October through February, Monarch butterfly groves.
Seabright and Twin Lakes State Beaches
East Cliff Drive at Seabright; East Cliff Drive at 7th Ave, Santa Cruz. 831.429.2850
The most easily accessed stretch of sandy fun in town starts on the banks of the San Lorenzo River across from the Boardwalk and runs eastward as Seabright Beach (the locals call it Castle Beach), stopping at the harbor and picking up again on the other side as Twin Lakes Beach. Seabright’s bigger and more luxe, but Twin Lakes has fire rings and a bathroom. Such difficult decisions.
New Brighton State Beach
1500 Park Ave, Capitola. 831.464.6330
We include New Brighton not because it’s the most spectacular of the five state beaches running in a nonstop string between Capitola and Moss Landing, but because it’s the one you can most easily get to by bus and hence makes a nice gateway to the others. Like all these beaches—Seacliff, Rio Del Mar, Manresa and Sunset—it has far more sand than crowds and backs up to dramatic cliffs that act as a sun trap and a windbreak, making for perfect beach day conditions in many kinds of weather.
Sunset State Beach
201 Sunset Beach Rd, Watsonville. 831.763.7063
Worth every tingle of pain in the ass it takes to get there, Sunset offers miles of empty beauty in either direction, plus the highest dunes in the county. There’s also camping for those so inclined, but reservations are recommended.
Parks
Pogonip
333 Golf Club Dr, Santa Cruz. 831.420.5270
The city of Santa Cruz’s greenbelt comprises 640 acres of redwood, Douglas fir and oak grassland perched conveniently between campus and the city, but drug dealers lurking in the far corners of the park have given it a bad rap. Fortunately, rangers give the main paths—Spring Trail, Prairie Trail, Lookout Trail, Brayshaw and Ohlone—their safety blessing. We say don’t miss Pogonip, just go in pairs.
Wilder Ranch State Park
1401 Old Coast Rd (two miles north of Western Drive on Highway One), Santa Cruz. 831.423.9703
This old dairy farm, accessible from either Highway One or Empire Grade (from UCSC upper campus take Chinquapin Road), has big ocean views and 34 miles of hiking and biking trails through unreasonably pretty territory. It also has coyotes, banana slugs, bobcats, hawks, quail, rabbits and, if the signs are to be believed, mountain lions, as well as a historic collection of houses and buildings that’ll learn you how the Wilder family did things back in the day. The machine shop will fascinate the gearhead in your life.
Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Aptos Creek Rd and Soquel Dr, Aptos. 831.763.7063
Prized by runners for its flat, shaded fire roads and beloved by cyclists for its maze of trails running along Aptos Creek and into the mountains, Nisene Marks is a redwood forest in the process of recovering from a logging frenzy that ended in the 1920s. Not that you’d know it—these are mighty tall trees. The spooky epicenter of the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which flattened downtown Santa Cruz and interrupted the World Series, is in this park.
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
101 North Big Trees Rd, Felton. 831.335.4598
The easy-peasy Redwood Loop boasts 250-foot-tall trees that were young when Rome was sacked, and they are truly magnificent. The rest of the park is worth a gander too—especially the trails to the Observation Deck, which lead through redwood forest, fragrant bay laurel and the bizarre Santa Cruz Sandhill ecosystem with its gorgeous ponderosa pines and manzanita.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek. 831.338.8860
As Yellowstone is to America, so is Big Basin to California. The state’s first park was established in 1902 to preserve majestic old-growth redwoods and forest that had previously been logged. The result is a spectacular 18,000-acre park that runs from mountaintop to seashore (at Highway One it’s called Rancho del Oso) and connects with a network of Bay Area trails. Hard to get to but well worth the effort.
