California's redwood parks draw plenty of admirers, and even the lesser-known ones can feel busy on a summer weekend. If your idea of forest therapy involves actual silence, point the car at the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park instead — a 10,000-acre stretch of redwood country just outside Santa Cruz that most visitors drive right past.
The park sits about four miles north of the low-key beach town of Aptos, up Aptos Creek Road, and it's an easy hop from Santa Cruz or under an hour's drive from San Jose Mineta International Airport. Don't expect the colossal old-growth giants of Big Basin or Redwood National Park — this is second- and third-growth forest, with trees a century or so old topping 100 feet. What you get instead is a dense, shady, wonderfully quiet woodland climbing from near sea level into the Santa Cruz Mountains, which top 2,600 feet inside the park.
There's a geological quirk here too. The park sits on or near three major fault lines — the Zayante fault actually crosses Aptos Creek Canyon, while the San Gregorio and San Andreas run just outside. Seismic upheaval has exposed ancient marine rocks in the park's creeks, and Loma Prieta, the peak created at the epicentre of the 1989 earthquake, rises within sight of the trails.
Hikers, runners, mountain bikers and horse riders get more than 30 miles of marked trails to play with. A gentle introduction is the Loma Prieta Grade Small Loop, a six-mile circuit following an old lumber railroad grade, so the footing is easy while you pass redwoods, fir, maple, alder, oak and madrone. Want a waterfall? The Bridge Creek Trail and Aptos Creek Road combine into a 10-mile out-and-back to Maple Falls, with canyon views, bridges and a couple of stream crossings. Deeper in the backcountry, Five Finger Falls rewards the effort with five separate cascades tumbling down a cliff face, plus a small cold pool at the base that's perfect for a bracing dip. If you're after a proper workout, a 15-mile loop along Aptos Creek Fire Road and the West Ridge Trail packs in nearly 2,000 feet of climbing and ends with views over the forest all the way to the coast from Sand Point Overlook — a handy spot for a packed lunch.
Who is this for? Anyone who loves the idea of Yosemite-scale nature without Yosemite-scale queues: trail runners wanting vert, mountain bikers wanting miles, or travellers road-tripping the Santa Cruz coast who fancy trading the boardwalk for an afternoon under the canopy. It pairs neatly with a morning in Aptos or Santa Cruz — redwoods by afternoon, fish tacos by evening.
