Outdoor activities and a vibrant community life make Santa Cruz County a natural destination when you’re flying solo. When you’re ready for some adventuring on your own, Santa Cruz County offers a host of fun options in the great outdoors, from beach cruising to exploring the redwood forest. After an action-packed day, the laid-back ethos
One of the prettiest ways to get from downtown Santa Cruz to sprawling, redwood-shaded San Lorenzo Park is to take the short stroll across the San Lorenzo River via the Chinatown Bridge. This scenic pedestrian walkway offers a great view of waterfowl and other bird life in the willows and reeds of the riverbanks, but
Resilience of Big Basin Redwoods State Park: Even 2020 can’t defeat a forest that has survived ice ages, wildfires and logging sprees People the world over are looking to 2021 to be a year of healing — from division, disease and, here in California, a devastating wildfire season. Nowhere is that truer than in Santa
Relics of the Spanish and Mexican eras, the county’s oldest buildings have fascinating stories to tell.
By Traci Hukill
The Santa Cruz Mountains are a hiker’s paradise. Hundreds of miles of trail crisscross this section of the Coast Range, which extends from southern Santa Cruz County all the way to San Francisco. Over the past 150 years, the splendid redwood forests blanketing these mountains have lured loggers and inspired environmentalists, who left their legacies along with fascinating stories that you can discover if you know where to go.