Wilder Ranch State Park
1401 Coast Road,Santa Cruz,
California 95060
(831) 426–0505
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3 Reviewsfor Wilder Ranch State Park
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31 family found this helpful
"Relax, Picnic. Climb Trees or Hike the Coast."
Located 4 miles north of Santa Cruz, off Highway 1, Wilder Ranch State Park is kid friendly and fun. Some of the best attractions are on the front lawn by the Historic Victorian. This includes a giant aloe “tree” with exposed roots for multiple toddler-friendly tunnels, as well as, a bald cypress tree with great branches for kids of all ages to climb. There is a chicken coop in the back and barns full of antique tractors and horse drawn plows.
If you want to do more than relax and picnic, hike along the Old Landing Cove Trail. Stroller and bike friendly, this wide level path winds along the coastal bluff. The beaches below are home to pelicans, pigeons, seals, sea lions and a large population of snowy plovers.
If you have older children, challenge yourself to steep mountain bike ride up Ben Lomond Mountain. You can also bring your horses and explore the equestrian trails.
On Sat Dec 19th, 2009, the park will host Holidays on the Ranch from 11-3pm. Visitors are invited to watch Living History demonstrations, create wreaths, candles, sing around the piano and decorate the tree. Seasonal goodies can be sampled by all.
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0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
A 6,000-acre dairy ranch since the 1800s is now a leafy, meadowy park. Picnic in the apple orchard; see historic displays in the Victorian home and take a guided walk on weekends; or hike, horseback ride, or bike on your own on miles of trails. From here you can connect to the newly donated Gray Whale Ranch.
2 families found this helpful
"Beautiful walk (or bike ride) along the coast"
Just a few minutes north of Natural Bridges State Park and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Wilder Ranch State Park is now my family's favorite coastal hike in the Bay Area. We stumbled upon it with our 18 month old son a couple months ago and loved the pleasant walk overlooking the Pacific. We brought a jogging stroller along, but we saw lots of families with bikes (most of the paths along the coast are flat, but for adventurous families there are plenty of hills to be ridden just east of Coast Road). To get to the coastal trail, head straight west from the parking lot instead of following the paved road (which heads south) to the old ranch.
The highlight of our trip was when we found a remote little beach (maybe less than a mile from the parking lot). We had to climb down from the trail and leave our stroller behind, but our son had a great time playing in a little cave and on the beach. Highly recommended for a little family getaway in Santa Cruz. Next time we'll bring our bikes.
There is a $6 parking charge which many people avoid by parking on Coast Road just south of the park entrance. Many bikers park here and it leads straight into the ranch.
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