Santa Cruz Mountains

Fun and Games for Students in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Quail Hollow Pond is a great place for animal tracking! Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History photo.

Here are a couple of kid-friendly hikes and gamified educational activities in the hills near Santa Cruz, just 45 minutes from Silicon Valley.

Santa Cruz Mountains AVA: California’s Lesser Known Wine Region

Wine tasting at Mindego Ridge vineyard, Alpine Road, La Honda. Credit: Mike Kahn

When we think of wineries near the Bay Area, Napa and Sonoma tend to dominate the conversation. But did you know that there are wineries producing world-class wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains?

Seeking a Family Adventure? Geocaching in the Santa Cruz Mountains

You can use a GPS like this or a cell phone app to go geocaching. Credit: Bernabe Colohua, Pixabay

A comprehensive guide for families to explore, bond, and discover treasures hidden in Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.

Trails Damaged in CZU Fire Reopen at Big Basin

Two children and a giant redwood tree

From Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

For the first time in three years, visitors can enjoy springtime at Big Basin Redwoods State Park by exploring miles of recently reopened trails and fire roads.

Finding Pomponio's Cave

In Search of the Man Who Rebuked the Mission System

Finding Frank Norris in the Santa Cruz Mountains

A memorial to a pioneer of American literature sits unseen 10 miles west of Gilroy.

A gargantuan spiderweb hangs across the steep dirt road. It shimmers, translucent in the sunlight, slack lines nearly imperceptible. As I duck the web and trudge further up the road's corkscrew turn, the thick brush, thistle, weeds and poison oak part, revealing an ancient looking stone bench on the shoulder above the road.

Rancho San Antonio

On Sunday afternoons, trails in the lower section of the park double as community promenade. Traci Hukill photo.

Maybe the Peninsula's most beloved park.

Fascinating Facts About Mountain Lions

Mountain lion kitten known as '40F' in the arms of a researcher from the Santa Cruz Puma Project. Photo by Yiwei Wang.

Pumas thrive in the mountains above Silicon Valley.

No Left Turn Unstoned in La Honda

Ken Kesey's infamous house today.

The rolling grasslands of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve are like a sublime hallucination this time of year; their contours, a sensuous geometry. A breeze sweeps through the clearing and the lush green shivers with life. The velvety slopes make me want to strip off my clothes and perform wild, flailing somersaults down the hill.

Pescadero Creek Park

Mule's ear at Pescadero Creek County Park. Photo by Miguel Vieira/CC.

Remote redwood hikes and trail camps.

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