The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
This place is one of the more beautiful places that I have ever been to state park wise. It is seemingly pristine (you can hardly tell that it was heavily logged years ago) and has some great
trails. Another great thing about this place is how it is not busy at all! It is the best kept secret of the people of Aptos and Soquel as the park is usually pretty empty. Granted, its
conventional family appeal is relatively slim, but it has extraordinary appeal to the adventureres out there. With over 44 miles worth of trail and large amounts of wilderness, this park has a
charm of it's own. One thing that the park does lack though is a good map. The Advocates of the Forest of Nisene Marks is a non-profit group that tries to do some trailbuilding and make some maps
availiable. But to be honest, the maps are very rudimentry and often more than a bit misleading as to distances and such. Thankfully the place has relatively good trailmarkers that have the
distances in between locations. To my dismay though, those distances are not availiable readily to the average hiker/biker so I decided to put them up here. I only copied the signs inside the
park so if things don't add up, dont blame me. Format:
Intersecting Road or Trail / Intersecting Road or Trail (tells where the marker was)
Via Road or trail (only if the marker pertains only to one direction of the intersection)
West Ridge Trail:
Aptos Creek Fire Road / West Ridge Trail
Via West Ridge Trail
Ridge Connection - 4.3 mi / 6.9 km
Hoffman's Historic Site - 4.7 mi / 7.5 km
West Ridge Trail Camp - 6.0 mi / 9.6 km
Sand Point - 6.4 mi / 10.3 km
Buzzard Lagoon Road - 12.5 mi / 20.0 km
West Ridge Trail / Ridge Connection
Aptos Creek Road via West Ridge Trail - 4.3 mi / 6.9 km
Hoffman's Historic Site - 1.0 mi / 1.6 km
West Ridge Trail Camp - 2.3 mi / 3.7 km
Sand Point - 2.7 mi / 4.3 km
West Ridge Trail / Big Stump Trail
Hoffman's Historic Site - 1.0 mi / 1.6 km
West Ridge Trail Camp - 1.8 mi / 2.9 km
Sand Point - 2.2 mi / 3.5 km
Aptos Creek Road - 4.8 mi / 7.7 km
West Ridge Trail
West Ridge Trail Camp
Aptos Creek Fire Road
Aptos Creek Fire Road / Porter Family Picnic Area
Aptos Creek Fire Road / Mill Pond Road
via Mill Pond Road
Loma Prieta Grade - 0.1 mi
Bridge Creek Historical Site - 1.7 mi
Hoffman's House Historical Site - 1.7 mi
West Ridge Trail - 2.8 mi
Aptos Creek Fire Road / Trout Gulch Road
via Aptos Creek Fire Road
Aptos Creek Trail - 0.5 mi / 0.8 km
Sand Point Overlook - 4.6 mi / 7.4 km
West Ridge Trail Camp - 5.4 mi / 8.6 km
Buzzard Lagoon Road - 11.0 mi / 17.6 km
End of Trout Gulch Trail - 1.0 mi / 1.6 km (via Trout Gulch Trail)
Aptos Creek Fire Road / Whites Lagoon Road / Big Slide Trail
via Aptos Creek Fire Road
Aptos Creek Trail
Aptos Creek Trail / Big Slide Trail
Via Aptos Creek Trail
|
