Traversing Henry Cowell and Wilder Ranch State Parks, Pogonip Santa Cruz City Park, and University of California, Santa Cruz.
Felton / Santa Cruz
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Description: Our Redwoods to the Ocean Challenge is a beautiful, extremely difficult ride through four contiguous parks in the Santa Cruz/Felton area: Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Pogonip Santa Cruz City Park, University of California Santa Cruz, and Wilder Ranch State Park. This ride runs from the Redwood Forests of the Santa Cruz mountains to the Ocean and back. Terrain varies widely, from paved park roads (no automobile traffic) to extremely difficult and steep single tracks, and everything between. We have profiled two versions of this ride: a long Challenge Ride and a shorter Big Ride. Besides being 9 miles longer, the Challenge Ride includes steeper climbs and wading across the San Lorenzo River twice, which is usually not possible in the winter. The shorter Big Ride eliminates the steeper climbs and the wading. Restrooms along this ride are really only at the midway point in Wilder Ranch at the ranch buildings and in the main parking lot. See individual entries for each of the parks included in this ride for descriptions of shorter and less challenging routes inside those parks only.
In the Wet Season: Trails in Wilder Ranch can be closed after a rain. The other trails stay open. The San Lorenzo River can be impassible in the winter and spring.
Directions: We recommend starting the Big Ride at the Rincon Parking lot of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park on State Route 9. A link to the parking location for the Big Ride in Google Maps is here. The Challenge Ride starts at the Powder Mill Trail Head on Mt. Herman Rd. A link to the parking location for the Challenge Ride in Google Maps is here.