Santa Cruz Mountains

How To Capture A Mountain Lion

Cajun, a Plott hound, and his two English coonhound counterparts, Sage and Randy, wait for their chance to track a mountain lion. Brendan Bane photo.

Biology and age-old instinct make hounds the perfect tool to help researchers capture elusive mountain lions. But the practice has come under pressure since the 2012 ban on hunting with dogs.

The Tallest Redwoods in The Great Park

Ten of the 14 biggest trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains are found in Big Basin. Photo: Allie Caulfield

The loftiest trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains are more than 300 feet tall—and you'll find them all inside the Great Park.

The Horrors of the Summit Tunnel

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The history of Wrights Tunnel in the Santa Cruz Mountains—once the second longest railroad tunnel in California—is a tale of death, greed and bigotry.

Hike The Great Park: Ocean View Summit

The view from Ocean View Summit is very similar to this one from McCrary Ridge: forested ridges leading to the sparkling Pacific. Photo by Miguel Vieira on Wikimedia Commons.

This Big Basin hike offers a stunning summit-to-sea perspective on the Great Park, a 200-square-mile swath of Santa Cruz Mountain redwood forest.

UCSC Researchers Have a Mountain Lion Kitten

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

The Santa Cruz Puma Project will study human impact on newborn cougars.

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