Best Spots to Camp This Summer
It’s officially summertime in the Santa Cruz Mountains! The summer sun is drying everyone out after a rainy spring, the flowers are in full bloom, and those shady hiking trails have never looked so inviting. With the UCSC students out of town and the locals reclaiming the area, many people are looking…
Quail Hollow: Santa Cruz Mountains Shangri-La
Located between Ben Lomond and Zayante, Quail Hollow Ranch County Park sits in a small, amphitheater-shaped valley ringed by sandy, teardrop-shaped ridges. At roughly 300 acres, it is home to a startlingly diverse array of plant communities, including revitalized grasslands, rare Santa Cruz Sandhills…
Land of Medicine Buddha and the Eight Verses Trail
The Eight Verses Trail is a short meditative loop designed to help hikers calm their minds and contemplate Buddhist teachings. Walking under the canopy of redwoods, you’ll find the Eight Verses written in beautiful script on signs posted every 15 or 20 minutes along the trail.
The Santa Cruz Sandhills: Windows into the Miocene
In between Bonny Doon and Scotts Valley, small windows into the Miocene Epoch pock the Santa Cruz Mountains. At first glance, they might be easy to dismiss — barren stretches of sand occupied by hardy, arid chaparral scrub or pine. Yet look a little closer, perhaps as you hike…
The Santa Cruz Wine Experience
When I’d mentioned to family and friends that I would be taking a wine tour with The Santa Cruz Experience on a weekend when Santa Cruz faced yet another heavy rain, everyone said the same thing, “That’s a perfect way to spend a rainy day!” Indeed. The drizzly day began with tour guide Matty welcoming us into the comfortable van.
World and Wilderness Youth Leadership Development
Looking for the right blend of nature engagement, educational mentorship, and most importantly, fun for your youth? Then it may be time for them to enter the WYLD; World & Wilderness Youth Leadership Development.
Mountain Parks Foundation & two State Parks
Much of the foundation’s funding goes to support public interpretive programs put on by State Parks staff, such as hosting field trips for school kids, holding ranger-led campfires, and offering naturalist-guided family backpacking trips each summer.