State park featuring long trails and ocean views making the area a favorite of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers

General Information

Hours:

Daily: 8am to Sunset
Interpretive Center: Thursday–Sunday, 10am to 4pm

Fees:

Vehicle Day Use: $10
Seniors (62+): $9

Pet Policy:

Pets are not allowed

Closest cities with hotels:

Santa Cruz, CA (3 mi)

Seasons:

All year
Best seasons: Spring and Autumn for vibrant scenery

Location:

parks.ca.gov

How to Get There

From Santa Cruz (3 mi): Head north on CA-1 for about 3 miles, then turn left at the Wilder Ranch State Park entrance just past Western Drive.

Overview

Wilder Ranch State Park is a California state park on the Pacific Ocean coast north of Santa Cruz, California. The park was formerly a dairy ranch, and many of the ranch buildings have been restored for use as a museum. The long trails and ocean views make the area a favorite of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. Public beaches continue to the north in Coast Dairies State Park.

Gray Whale Ranch

In 1996 the state acquired the adjacent "Gray Whale Ranch". The 2,305 acres (9.33 km2) parcel contains many long trails, extending from the northern boundary of Wilder Ranch to the University of California at Santa Cruz campus.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wilder Ranch State Park", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0