Santa Cruz County Local News: Parks & Recreation

If we had not gotten lost, we would have never found ourselves looking down on Aptos High School from the mountain above.

Swimming holes and beach-swims near Santa Cruz that let you work in some exercise.

How paying parking fees at state parks, beaches makes a bigger difference than most people think.

An old guy and a young guy are playing golf, teeing off on a dogleg that angles around a grove of tall trees blocking the fairway. The old guy hits a 2 iron safely out in the grass. The young man pulls out his iron and the old guy says,“You’re not going to use an iron, are you?”

Miles of empty beach in either direction.

The Fourth of July has long been a time of celebration in Santa Cruz County, a height-of-summer fete that draws hordes of people to local beaches to indulge in picnics, swim in the ocean and soak up the sun, and, for some, trash the place

Wilder Ranch State Park is named after dairyman Delos D. Wilder, but just the word “wilder” as an adjective works for me. Henry David Thoreau nailed it with In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World.

Volunteers of the global nonprofit Dr. Shri. Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan completed a conservation drive at Castle Rock State Park, located along Skyline Boulevard, on June 22.

Property will be closed to public access through May 1, 2025 to selectively harvest trees and maintain forest health.

A beach hike is different. Your path is a vast nowhere, and the ocean itself disappears on the horizon, showing that the earth is round.

The CZU Fire brought about a transformation that’s a wonder to behold, and Big Basin is open to visitors. Here’s how to get there and what you’ll find.

A Bright Future in Sight: Camping Unlimited at Camp Krem Approved for FEMA Assistance

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is called the crown jewel of the California State Parks system. Landscape painter Francis McComas called it “the greatest meeting of land and water in the world.” Some 600,000 people a year come here, so all the strict rules about staying on the trail make sense.

Newish MTB-accessible trails wind through carefully protected wildlife habitat and thoughtful interpretive exhibits in the footprint of the CZU fire.

The Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk turned 100 years old on May 17th, 2024.