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| The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park |
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| Nestled in the coastal town of Aptos is the beautiful Forest of Nisene
Marks State Park. The area is mostly second growth Redwood and Douglas Fir
forest which is luxuriously green and dense. |
| |
| The semi-loop run is just under 18 miles. It's mostly uphill on the way
out and, you guessed it, mostly downhill on the return. The trails are well
graded and relatively easy to run. |
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| Meeting Place: |
Entrance to Nisene Marks State Park on
Soquel Drive |
| Distance: |
~18.5 miles |
| Difficulty: |
Relatively Tame (~2,500
feet climb) |
| Water Stops: |
Streams. Bring
water treatment gear! |
|
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| Course Map |
Course
Profile |
 |
 |
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| Features: |
|
Beautiful, dense forest
Nice views from high overlooks
Well graded, runable trails
Incredible waterfall (if you do the extra credit*)
|
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| Directions to Start: |
| From the San Jose area, take California Highway 17 to Santa Cruz. When
you reach the Santa Cruz area, exit Highway 17 onto Highway 1 going South.
Go South on Highway 1 toward Watsonville and Monterey for about six miles.
Take the exit towards Seacliff Beach and Aptos and keep Left at the fork in
the ramp. Turn Left onto State Park Drive and go to Soquel Drive (~0.3
mile). Turn Right onto Soquel Drive and go about a half mile to the Forest
of Nisene Marks State Park entrance at Aptos Creek Road. Park on the street. |
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| Course Description: |
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|
Trail |
Segment Distance |
Total Distance |
Location |
|
Start from Parking on Soquel Drive |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Aptos Creek Road |
0.8 |
0.8 |
Junction with Split Stuff Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (on Left) |
0.5 |
1.3 |
Junction with Terrace Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (stay Right) |
0.6 |
1.9 |
Junction with Vienna Woods Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (stay Right) |
0.2 |
2.1 |
Junction with Aptos Creek Road |
|
Aptos Creek Road (go Left) |
0.4 |
2.5 |
Junction with West Ridge Trail |
|
West Ridge Trail (on Left) |
1.8 |
4.3 |
Power Lines |
|
West Ridge Trail |
1.6 |
5.9 |
Junction with Ridge Connection Trail |
|
West Ridge Trail |
0.5 |
6.4 |
Junction with Big Stump Gap Trail |
|
West Ridge Trail |
0.6 |
7.0 |
Overview Point (at 1,400 feet) |
|
West Ridge Trail |
0.6 |
7.6 |
Junction with Hinkley Basin Fire Road |
|
Hinkley Basin Fire Road (go Right) |
0.4 |
8.0 |
Junction with Aptos Creek Fire Road |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road (go Right) |
1.0 |
9.0 |
Junction with White's Lagoon Road |
|
White's Lagood Road (go Left) |
0.4 |
9.4 |
Junction with Big Slide Trail |
|
Big Slide Trail (go Right) |
1.3 |
10.7 |
Junction with Aptos Creek Trail |
|
Aptos Creek Trail (go Right)* |
3.0 |
13.7 |
Junction with Aptos Creek Fire Road |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road (go Left) |
0.8 |
14.5 |
Junction with Mill Pond Trail |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road |
0.3 |
14.8 |
Loma Prieta Mill Site |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road |
0.3 |
15.1 |
Junction with Loma Prieta Grade Trail |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road |
0.2 |
15.3 |
Porter Family Picnic Area |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road |
0.7 |
16.0 |
Junction with West Ridge Trail |
|
Aptos Creek Fire Road |
0.4 |
16.4 |
Junction with Split Stuff Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (go Right) |
0.2 |
16.6 |
Junction with Vienna Woods Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (stay Left) |
0.6 |
17.2 |
Junction with Terrace Trail |
|
Split Stuff Trail (stay Left) |
0.5 |
17.7 |
Junction with Aptos Creek Road |
|
Aptos Creek Road (go Right) |
0.8 |
18.5 |
Parking on Soquel Drive (Finish) |
|
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*Extra Credit: Five Finger Falls |
1.0 |
1.0 |
At mile 10.7 go LEFT to Falls |
|
Retrun from Falls |
1.0 |
2.0 |
Junction of Aptos Creek & Big Slide |
