On a warm Sunday with absolutely perfect hiking conditions, we set off for Santa Cruz to hike a beautiful trail in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. This trail to Maple Falls would convey us through miles of Redwood forests, along and at times through creeks, and eventually through a Utah-esque slot canyon!
Miles/Elevation:
10.1 miles
872 feet vertical gain
About The Forest Of Nisene Marks State Park:
Located outside Santa Cruz on the California Coast, The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park contains dense forests, coastal mountains, and deep ravines. While essentially the entire area of the park was logged in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the forest has largely recovered. Redwoods blanket much of the park, and while you will not find the towering old growth monsters, there is still beautiful forest to be experienced!
At about 9,700 acres, the park contains 30 miles of trails that cover elevations from near sea level to about 2,600 feet. Named in honor of Nisene Marks, whose children donated the land, the park is now a local favorite among hikers, joggers, and mountain bikers.
There is an $8 parking fee to park at the park.
Getting To The Trailhead:
To access Nisene Marks, you will need to make your way to Aptos California. From the Bay Area, take highway 17 to Santa Cruz, and then head south on highway 1. From the south, follow highway 1 north until you reach Aptos.
From highway 1, take the exit onto State Park Drive. Take a left off the exit, and then quickly turn right onto Soquel Drive just past the Safeway. Continue on Soquel Drive to Aptos Creek Road, and then turn left. Follow Aptos Creek Road to enter the park. Once you reach the park, there is a parking lot right next to the entrance station, or you may continue on along the gravel park road to reach further trailheads. The further you go, the shorter your hike will be.
There is an $8 parking fee in the park.
The Maple Falls Trail:
Aptos Creek Fire Road:
Check out the Loma Prieta Earthquake Epicenter Trail too; it starts at the same spot!
From the parking area next to the entrance station, you have a bit of a hike up the Aptos Creek Fire Road. While you can avoid most of this road walk by parking at the further parking lot, I wanted the extra mileage!
The forest and scenery is nice as you walk up the road, and the incline is almost non-existent, so it does make for nice and easy hiking. You should be able to cover a mile in 20 minutes or less if hiking, so even if you don’t enjoy the road walk, it goes quickly!
Even if you park all the way out by the entrance station, you could actually spice your hike up a little by following some of the side trails that fringe the edges of the road. I personally didn’t take any of these side trails because I didn’t feel like doing the navigating it would have required, but there are ways to spice things up a little!
There are a few landmarks that break up the road walk. After about 1.3 miles, you will reach the first bridge over Aptos Creek. At just over 2 miles, you will reach the Porter Family Picnic Area which marks the final parking area. Past the gate here, there will be no more cars to contend with!
Continue on the fire road for about ¼ mile past the Porter Family Picnic Area, and then look for a trail veering off to the left. You’re looking for the Loma Prieta Grade, and once you see it, take a left to continue towards Maple Falls!
The Loma Prieta Grade:
The Loma Prieta Grade begins very gently and follows an equally flat path to what you’ve been on so far. For about half a mile, you’ll be on a nearly straight trail that roughly parallels the fire road a bit below. You’ll often be able to look over and down and see the road!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
After a really quick half mile, you’ll reach the Porter House Site. This spot was the location of a now vanished home back in the old logging days, and there is a bench and plaque marking the spot; it’s worth a quick look around. Here you have a choice to go either left or right. It honestly doesn’t matter because the trails rejoin in about 500 feet, so pick one and continue on.
Roughly a quarter mile after the Porter House Site, the trail will again fork. For the most direct route to the falls, stay right here to continue on the Bridge Creek Trail. For a longer and more winding route to reach the falls, you can stay left and follow the Loma Prieta Grade for a bit longer. It will eventually rejoin the Bridge Creek Trail further up the valley but add time, distance, and vert.
The Bridge Creek Trail:
We were getting hungry and didn’t feel like adding more time onto our hike, so we decided to follow the Bridge Creek Trail to get to our snack break at the falls sooner! Very quickly, you’ll enter a steep walled canyon. You’ll be hiking along the hillside, neither at the top nor along the bottom.
The views aren’t really anything special while hiking through this ravine, but it does make for very good hiking. The trail is a nice single track that traces the hillside, and there are some pretty significant drop offs right off the side. There are actually a couple of places where you might need to bend over to get under branches and rock overhangs near the edge, but for the most part you should feel pretty secure.
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
A bit under half a mile into the Bridge Creek Trail you will reach the first waterfall of the day. This one isn’t a year round waterfall, and when we hiked this trail in mid May it was already dry, so if you really want to see this one, hike during the rainy season in the winter. The trail crosses the creek bed, and I can imagine you might get a bit wet here after a strong rain!
Hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Be sure to check out Castle Rock State Park!
Continuing on, the trail maintains its gentle incline, and continues following Bridge Creek. You’ll cross the creek once or twice, but the next landmark is an intersection with the Loma Prieta Grade. Had you stayed left at the last fork, this is where you would rejoin the trail. From here, the trail undergoes a serious change of character!
Looking for huge old growth Redwoods instead? Head to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park!
From the final intersection with the Loma Prieta Grade, you have almost exactly half a mile to Maple Falls. Should go quick right? Not exactly in this case.
While the trail quality on this hike overall is excellent and allows you to cover ground very quickly, that all goes away for the final half mile!
Your final approach to the falls will take you over, through, and along the banks of Bridge Creek, and you’ll cross from bank to bank seemingly countless times! There are rocks to hop across, tree trunks to get under, and rocky banks to scramble up.
Much of your time in this final half mile actually takes you through a Utah-esque slot canyon. While Southwest slot canyons are rocky and dry, this one is green and covered in moss, ferns, trees, and damp rocks! The stone can be slippery, so you need to be careful!
For the best Bay Area hike, check out this route form Muir Woods to the summit of Mt Tamalpais!
Honestly even though we really slowed down for the last half mile, it was fun! It really feels like an adventure, and it crossed my mind that this would be a great place to bring non-hikers for a fun outdoor adventure. From the advanced parking area this would only be a 5 mile hike or so, lots of adventure for not a ton of work!
The going is slow and there are more than enough obstacles to deal with, but the elevation is never really a serious issue. You’ll have to climb up and away from the water once or twice, but you never really have to climb any big hills or ascend any serious inclines.
Before you know it, you’ll hear the sound of falling water, and see the cascade through the trees. The final approach to the falls takes you through a narrow, slightly overgrown final few feet, but then you’re there!
We have pictures, so I’m going to spend too much time describing the falls itself, but it is really an idyllic locale. The falls are big enough to sound distinctly like a waterfall, but small enough to still be charming and not overwhelming!
There are a few logs scattered around the “beach” that makes up the shore of the small lagoon at the bottom of the falls, and they make for great places to relax. On a hot day, I can imagine this being a perfect place to get wet and enjoy the water, but on this day it was still a bit chilly. It was still nice to look at though! After thoroughly enjoying this bucolic location, we began the hike out.
Hiking Out:
From Maple Falls, the hike out is a very straightforward return trip along the same trails you’ve already taken by now. The tricky bit is the initial trail along the creek for the first half mile, but I honestly felt like it went a lot quicker on the return trip. Probably because we knew where to cross and how to get around everything!
Once you get past the first half mile, the hike out is an easy walk on well graded, wide trails. It will go very quickly; we hiked at about a 17 minute mile pace, which is really fast for me with a legitimate pack on!
After about 4 hours and what ended up being 12 miles for me and not the listed 10 (not quite sure where the variance was), we were back at the car!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 7/10
I’m going to start by saying you should hike to Maple Falls, but if you hike this trail from the park entrance station, it’s only a 7/10. While the road walk does make for quick progress, it is a road walk down a fairly busy dirt road, not ideal. There also are no big views, and most of the trail is rather uneventful walking through the woods (which are very nice but not spectacular).
If you hike this trail as a shorter 6 or so mile hike from the furthest parking areas, I would probably give it a 9/10, or at the very least an 8/10. By parking at the advanced lots, you avoid the vast majority of the road walking, thereby cutting out this hike’s biggest weak point! I would strongly recommend this trail from the advanced parking areas!
Pros:
- Beautiful forests
- Very good trail quality
- Waterfalls
- Sense of adventure
Cons:
- Fire road walking
- Busy
- No big views
- No old growth Redwoods
Alternative Hikes:
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
The Land of Medicine Buddha Loop
When To The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park:
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park really is a 4 season destination. In summer, expect to be hot on exposed sections of trails, and to be comfortable on the shaded sections. During winter, expect to be cool in the shaded areas, and still warm in exposed sections. Rain is most likely in winter and spring.
Links For Further Reading:
Maple Falls via the Bridge Creek Trail and Aptos Creek Road – California | AllTrails
Falls of the Wild | Weekend Sherpa
Hike to Maple Falls at The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
