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August 6, 2006
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
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Margaret's Bridge |
Santa Cruz State Parks cover a wide variety of terrains, from natural bridges on the beaches and marine sanctuaries, to the redwoods and coastal mountain ranges. And its not just natural beauty that brings people out, but the historical aspects as well. You'll find water wheels and lime kilns and old light railroad tracks that are now well-loved mountain biking trails.
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is one such park. Located in Aptos, it's one of the best places in Santa Cruz to go mountain biking in a park, but there are also hiker-only trails, which is good because we found that a lot of the bikers were totally out of control on the fire roads and such. One of our friends even flew off a bridge and broke his back about ten years ago (he's fine now, but I've never seen him on a bike).
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Shane In Clover |
We originally went out to try out some new lenses we acquired for our upcoming honeymoon to Africa, but it was also nice to just hang out in the forest.
Aptos Creek and its tributaries is one of the dwindling watersheds that empty into the Pacific but are still viable for native fishes like the steelhead, (aka rainbow trout). Recent habitat studies of the Aptos Creek Watershed have shown that lower water levels, debris in the creek and high levels of sediment all impede the fish from living, migrating and making baby fishes.
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Shane Fords Aptos Creek |
Rainbow trout aren't the only native fishes, either. Coho salmon levels have been declining in general, but because Nisene Marks is a state park, much of the watershed is protected land and in good condition. Twenty years ago, the salmon was seen in Aptos Creek but they haven't been seen much since. However, researchers believe this has more to do with the ocean water quality and lack of a local spawning population, and perhaps a few bad years of weather, as opposed to the quality of the watershed itself.
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Coastal Redwoods |
The range of coastal redwoods is generally limited to the fog belt, which is up to about 13 miles inland from the ocean. The fog is thickest in summer, rolling in in late afternoon and sometimes not burning off til noon the following day. During the winter, the heavy rains make up for the dry summer weather.
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Mill Pond Trail |
The Mill Pond Trail is a nice short amble up among redwood groves, across Aptos Creek . You pass the old Loma Prieta Mill Site, just shy of the epicenter of the 1989 earthquake. You turn and cross over a bridge, beneath which you'll find a sort of secret shrine. Just beyond, you can see where the Porter House was built, and walk a nice bike-free trail back down to Margaret's Bridge and back to the picnic areas and parking.
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Aptos Creek Along Mill Pond Trail |
Banana slugs are seen in abundance, as are the mosquitos. In summer, the roads and trails can get very dusty, but in the winter, and down by the creek, you can still enjoy some greenery despite the otherwise browning grasses famous of summer of California.
Here's a great map of the Nisene Marks, since the state park website doesn't seem to have one. Also, check out some of Erik Goetze's Quicktime VR Virtual Viewpoints of the park.
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Posted by sorsha at August 6, 2006 2:13 PM
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