On my October week off, I was traveling all over the Bay Area trying out new trails that I hadn’t done before. Another one that had been sitting on my list for awhile was the Pacific to Redwoods Loop in Wilder Ranch State Park, and I was really excited to try it!
This 12 mile loop is pretty long, but it promised a super diverse day on the trail. I knew I would have oceanside hiking, Redwood forests,hills, meadows, and ridges! I got all of that, and the weather turned out to be absolutely perfect! Can’t ask for much more than perfect weather and a good hiking trail!
Miles/Elevation:
12 miles
1,243 feet vertical gain
About Wilder Ranch State Park:
Located just north of Santa Cruz California between the Pacific coast and the ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Wilder Ranch is an incredibly varied state park. At about 7,000 acres, Wilder Ranch has miles of coastline, rolling hills, Redwood forests, marshes, and even Victorian architecture!
Named for the Wilder family who onced owned this land, Wilder Ranch State Park still preserves much of this area’s agricultural history. From the 1859 farmhouse, the 1897 Victorian home, and the 1896 machine shop, there is tons of history here for you to discover, not to mention there’s still farm animals! (the park offers 1 hour weekend tours)
In addition to the agricultural history is a landscape of incredible diversity. Oceanside cliffs give way to farmland which gives way to rolling hills and meadows which give way to marshes which give way to Redwood forests. No matter what type of environment you are looking for in this part of California, you’re likely to find it here! And with more than 35 miles of trails, hikers, runners, and mountain bikers have tons of opportunities to explore it all!
Getting To Wilder Ranch State Park:
The trailhead for this hike is very easily accessible and easy to find. Option one is to literally just park in the main parking lot at Wilder Ranch, located just off Highway 1. There is a fee to park in the parking lot, so I actually don’t recommend this.
The easier option is to park on the side of the road in a large parking pull off area. There’s room for dozens of cars to pull head in, so it’s not like you’ll be in a tight spot parallel parking.
Either way, you can just put Wilder Ranch Day Use Parking into Google Maps, and that will bring up the parking lot. Pull all the way into the lot if you want, or just park on the side of the road!
Pacific To Redwoods Loop:
Wilder Ridge Loop:
From the roadside parking area, head south towards the bridge, and head down to the trail. There is a small access trail from the road to reach the actual trail which goes under the highway. Turn left onto the main trail and head away from the ocean.
After crossing under the highway, take a quick left onto a single track trail, and continue until you reach a wider forest road-eque trail. This is the Wilder Ridge Loop.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
The Wilder Ridge Loop will take you away from the ocean as you slowly climb away from the coast. The first section is mostly through open grassland and some farm fields, and you’ll have some glimpses of the sea back over the landscape.
You’ll eventually come to a fork in the trail. At this first fork, the Ridge Loop goes left. Stay right to stay on the Wilder Ridge Loop. The environment around this point will turn from mostly open meadow to much more wooded, and you’ll begin climbing a bit.
When I say climbing, it’s very gentle. I was actually really surprised at how gentle it was. I wasn’t expecting anything crazy, but it’s seemingly hardly an incline at all!
Eventually, you’ll come to a second fork in the trail. The Wilder Ridge Loop goes left, but you’ll again stay right. This time, to continue on to the Twin Oaks Trail.
Twin Oaks Trail:
The Twin Oaks Trail mostly leaves behind the road walking for now, and turns into a bit of single track. Even though you can’t be more than a mile and a half from the road, it honestly feels really remote out here!
A good chunk of the Twin Oaks Trail heads through open meadows surrounded by forest. It’s really pretty, and an environment you don’t often see around the Bay Area!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
After about ¾ of a mile, you’ll come to another fork in the trail. Again, you are going to stay right. The Twin Oaks Trail heads to the left, but you are hopping on the Bobcat Trail.
Bobcat Trail/Eucalyptus Loop:
For more awesome coastal hikes, check out our list of the best hikes in Big Sur!
The section of the Bobcat Trail that you are using is probably less than a tenth of a mile. However, it connects you to the Eucalyptus Loop. When you get to the next intersection, continue straight onto the Eucalyptus Loop, then a few hundred feet later, veer right onto the Enchanted Loop!
Enchanted Loop:
The Enchanted Loop portion of this trail was definitely the highlight of the hike for me. You begin by descending into a heavily wooded ravine. As you descend, the foliage gets thicker, and the trees gradually change from leafy to Redwoods!
After a quick descent of a couple hundred feet, you will be in the depths of a beautiful, fern filled, Redwood forest. The Redwoods here aren’t the biggest I’ve seen by a long stretch, but it’s definitely a pretty forest to walk through!
After descending down into this forest, you will eventually have to climb back out. This climb out is the biggest and steepest climb of the day, but it’s totally manageable. It’s only about 350 feet of climbing, but the trail can be a bit rough, and you might have a few big steps up roots and other obstacles.
As you near the rim of the ravine, the forest thins and the sun starts filtering through. The leafy trees up here let in lots of light, and it feels as if you’re emerging from a cellar! Cresting the hill gives you a great view of the Pacific and the gently sloping hills that lead to the coast!
At the top of the ravine, there is another intersection. Once again, turn right here onto the Baldwin Loop.
Baldwin Loop:
From the intersection at the top of the hill, the Baldwin Loop takes you down hill back towards Highway 1 and the coastline. From the top, it’s a mile and a half back to the road. Views on the descent are really nice, as you’ll be looking right at the ocean basically the entire time.
As you descend, you will eventually have a choice of which route to take. The trail splits into left and right. Both will take you to the exact same place at the highway. I decided to again stay right (kind of a theme on this hike) because the trail looked a bit nicer and less overgrown, but it really doesn’t matter.
The one thing I’ll say is if you go right as I did is that you’ll basically have to walk through the yard outside a house. I’m not sure if anyone actually lives here, but there were multiple cars there, but it was the trail so not sure what the deal is! Either way, you’ll eventually pass under Highway 1 and continue towards the beach!
Ohlone Bluff Trail:
Once you get under the highway, you’ll be on the Ohlone Bluff Trail heading towards the beach. The beach is 4 Mile Beach, and it actually seemed like a really nice beach to visit on another day!
I thought I would be able to avoid actually hiking on the beach and the sand, but from what I can tell, unless I missed something, you actually need to hike onto the beach. Walk onto the beach, and then turn left. A few hundred yards down the beach you should see a use trail heading up the little cliff. Still not sure if that’s how you’re supposed to do it, but I made it, and there were lots of other tracks going through that spot!
Once you’re off the beach, you will be firmly on the Ohlone Bluff Trail, and will be for the next 5 or 6 miles. I was legitimately looking forward to this part of the hike, but it ended up being pretty underwhelming.
You would think that an easy blufftop walk along the ocean couldn’t be bad, and it wasn’t actually bad, but it got boring pretty quick. I might be nitpicking with my criticisms, but it’s how I felt about so oh well!
For one, you’ll be walking right next to, or in some cases through, farm fields. Not that farm fields are always ugly, they can be nice, but it’s not exactly like Big Sur! Beyond just being fields, there was a lot of irrigation going on, so sections of the trail were flooded or muddy, sprinklers were on and hitting the trail, and it honestly just smelled bad!
This also isn’t an especially interesting part of the California Coast. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some nice rock formations and beaches, and I even saw a sea lion (I think) in the water, but when you compare this coastline to Big Sur, just north near Half Moon Bay, or across the Golden Gate north of San Francisco, it just isn’t on the same level.
Anyway, I had 5 or more miles to hike, so I had to just get on with it. I basically made it a goal to always be catching the person in front of me, so I would find someone way up the trail, and then really power down until I caught them. Rinse and repeat for like 2 hours.
In the meantime I walked past beaches, and farms, and some other stuff.
Old Cove Landing Trail:
At some point, and if I’m honest I have no idea where, the trail name switches from the Ohlone Bluff Trail to the Old Cove Landing Trail. Again, no idea when or why it changes, but it is listed differently on the map.
This last section of trail takes you back to the main visitor center of the park, and Highway 1 or the parking lot where your car is! It’s pretty self explanatory, so follow the trails back to your car, and you’re done!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 7/10
This isn’t a bad hike, and the inland sections are pretty nice, but there’s too many long sections of flat walking through unexciting landscapes for me personally. The flat section along the coast on the cliffs is cool, but it’s like 6 miles of just flat walking. At a solid pace, that’s still about 2 hours, and to me just looking at the ocean wasn’t enough to keep me entertained.
I was also disappointed by the lack of any mountain views. I wasn’t expecting Yosemite, but normally when you hike in the Santa Cruz area, you’re at least getting some views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, but you really don’t get any of that here.
I did legitimately enjoy the inland section despite the lack of big mountain views. The Enchanted Loop part of the hike was legitimately really nice, and I think a shorter loop or lollipop hike there would be excellent. However, this trail as described had too much flat, uninspiring, walking for me. 7/10, try it if you have the time, but it certainly is not a can’t miss trail.
Pros:
- Ocean views
- Redwood forests
- Not super busy
Cons:
- No mountain views
- A lot of flat walking through farm fields
- Mountain bikes
Alternative Hikes:
Englesman, Long Meadow, Eucalyptus, Wilder Ridge Loop
Wilder Ranch Singletrack Trails Loop
When To Visit Wilder Ranch State Park:
Wilder Ranch is a destination that can be enjoyed 12 months a year. While winter does bring storms and occasional rainy days, there are beautiful sunny days every month of the year!
When you think about what season is best for hiking around Santa Cruz, you have to consider the winter storms and the fog. Fog is possible any time throughout the year, but it’s most common during storms and in summer. Spring and fall generally have the clearest weather, with a slight edge to fall.
Really, hiking at Wilder Ranch just comes down to getting a day with a clear weather forecast. Spring and fall have the lowest chances for fog, but fog is certainly possible all year long. Check the weather, and if it’s good, you’ll enjoy hiking here all year!
