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Culture
History, Museums, Retreats & More!
History, Museums, Retreats & More!
Happening on the Blog
Retreat offers a situation where it’s possible to fulfill our basic human potential and develop all the positive qualities within ourselves. Lama Zopa Rinpoche The Santa Cruz Mountains hold many secrets. Spend a lifetime wandering the silent green paths and you’ll still be discovering it’s treasures after many years. The Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture...
They are quiet now. Ferns, mosses, and lichens cling to their stone walls. Shrubs and vines cascade over their buttresses. Trees sprout from their floors. Nature is slowly laying claim to Santa Cruz County’s historic lime kilns. Lime Kiln Legacies If you’ve ever hiked in the Santa Cruz Mountains, you may have wandered upon these...
Land of Medicine Buddha. The name evokes images of misty mountain peaks, pristine waterfalls surrounded by prayer flag wrapped trees, and silent orange-clad monks wandering hallways of simple yet dramatic temples. If that’s what you’re picturing, you’re pretty close to correct. The Land of Medicine Buddha, based in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is an environmentally...
Discover the Outdoors
Though it’s not the biggest park in the county, there are hiking, biking, and equestrian options beyond what’s described here. It’s strongly recommended that adventurers go by the Visitor Center and talk to the docents about hike ideas, trail closures, wildlife sightings, and whatever other...
Butano State Park doesn’t have the enormous ancient redwoods you’ll find at other Redwood State Parks, though it’s rumored that in some secret corner, far off-trail, there hides one of the tallest specimens in these mountains. Still, it more than makes up for lack of accessible old-growth groves with its biodiversity and panoramic views. The...
In 1902, the early environmental movement saw one of its crowning moments come to glorious fruition with the formation of the California Redwood Park. The park, later renamed Big Basin Redwoods State Park, would prove to be the first unit in what would eventually evolve into the modern California State Parks system. The park continued...
