Forest of Nisene Marks

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a lovely park in the town of Aptos, near Santa Cruz. It features mostly 2nd and 3rd growth redwoods, and offers over 30 miles of trails. The Aptos Creek Fire Road is also pretty flat for the first section of the road, so it is also popular with cyclists. Once you get off the fire road, the trails are lovely for hikers!

My husband and I had been to this park before, but we went without a map and we stayed on the fire road. We were a bit bummed out by the bike traffic that we saw on the road as we walked to the site of the epicenter of the Loma Prieta Earthquake.

I wanted to visit Maple Falls on this trip, but the trails north of the Winter Gate were closed due to storm damage. We then thought to hike the Old Growth Loop Trail, but the seasonal bridges were put away in mid-October. I was pretty disappointed that my first and second choices for hikes were no good.

My third trail choice, however, ended up being so good that all my disappointment vanished. We parked at the lot near the entrance station and then took the Aptos Rancho Trail all the way up to George's Picnic Area. The trail follows along Aptos Creek, and it is really beautiful. When the trail is right up near the creek, you hike underneath alder trees that shimmer in the sunlight. When the trail gains in elevation, you see a deep canyon below and spot long-fallen redwoods along the steep canyon banks.

Note: the map above is zoomed into the section of the park that we hiked. The larger park map is available at the state park system's page for this park.