• Schedule
• Trail Information
• Map
• Notes about this hike
• General notes about hiking trips
• Pictures from previous hikes

• 7:30 AM.  Meet at Saratoga Plaza (Lions Plaza), outside the french Cafe/Bakery (Bijan).  Exact address is  441 Saratoga Ave, San Jose.  It's just off 280 and Saratoga Ave.  See map information below for more details.  We will determine carpool arrangements if necessary.
• 7:45 AM.  Leave for Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.  It'll take about an hour and 10 minutes to get there.
• 9:00 AM.  Park at the first parking lot and start hike #1.  This is a easy 1.1 mile hike, will take no more than 30 minutes.
• 9:45 AM - 10:00 AM.  Drive further up Aptos Creek Road to the Porter Family Picnic Area, park, and start hike #2.  This is a 7 mile loop with about 1,000 ft elevation gain.  We'll take the Aptos Creek Trail through the 89 earthquake epicenter.
• 12:00 PM. Picnic at White's Lagoon, which is half way through the hike.
• 2:00 PM.  Get back down to the parking area.  Explore area towns or whatever you'd like!

Park Location:  ~7 miles south of Santa Cruz, about 3 miles off Rt 1, in the town of Aptos.
Trail Name: Aptos Creek Trail, among several others.
Trails taken for the loop: Two sets of hikes involving many different trails (see trail map below)
Distance: Hike #1: 1.1 mile, Hike #2: 7 miles. Total of about 8 miles.
Elevation change: +/-1,000 ft, starting elevation is about 300 ft.
Time: ~5 to 7 hrs, depending on breaks taken.
Difficulty:  Hike #1: very easy, Hike #2: moderate
Trail conditions: Lots of shade through redwoods and creeks.  Weather information: Aptos, current forecast is for 67F on Sunday.
What to see:  Lots of stuff: twisted redwoods (you'll wonder how they became that way), flowing creeks, giant and not-so-giant redwoods, bikers and joggers and hikers, old mill sites, old railroad trails, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter, Whites Lagoon (where we'll have lunch), and bunch of other things, and oh, I didn't even mention visint the nearby towns afterwards!

Park information: http://www.mbay.net/~mzelus/nisene.html (pictures only, there's no official site)
Trail map: see below

Bijan Bakery The Bijan bakery is in the Saratoga Square plaza (Lions Supermarket).  It is just off 280, a few miles south of 85 and a few miles north of 17.  This is our main meeting place where carpool will be arranged. Unless indicated otherwise, please meet here. 1. From 280 North or South, get off on Saratoga Ave, towards North (from 280 North, it would be right turn, from 280 South, it would be left turn).  2. Make a left on Kiely Blvd, it is about 1/4 mile from 280. 3.  Make a left into the plaza driveway.  You'll see a store with the sign "Bakery" closest to Kiely Rd.  Burger King is across the parking lot in the same plaze. 4.  We'll meet in front of the bakery, by some outdoor cafe tables.   Use this link to get directions from your starting point: Directions.
Forest of Nisene Marks State Park (See trail map below to see where we will park for hike #1, all parking is right on Aptos Creek Road) -From Bijan, take 280 South and then get onto Rt 17 South. -Drive about 26 miles on Rt 17 until Rt 1.  Get onto Rt 1 South - towards Watsonville/Monterey, NOT Santa Cruz. -Stay on Rt 1 south for about 6 miles and then take the Seacliff Beach/Aptos exit.  Keep left at the fork in the ramp and turn left onto State Park Drive. - From State Park Drive, turn right onto Soquel Drive.  You'll go through an underpass (of a railroad), then you'll see the railroad track on your left.  Make a left onto Aptos Creek Road.  You will cross the railroad tracks rightaway. -On Aptos Creek Road right after the tracks, it'll look like the road ended but keep going and you'll pass through some residential.  The road is not so smooth at place.  Keep going for about 2 miles and you'll arrive at the park entrance and then a parking area to your left.  Park here for the first hike. If you are meeting us here, please give yourself 1 hr 15 minutes to get to the park from Bijan and wait by the first parking area (marked "Entrance Station" as seen in the trail map below).  If you are considering meeting us at the park, please do let me know ahead of time, thanks! Email me at pthuang@aol.com Click here to get the directions to Aptos Creek Road from Bijan, or click on the image on right.
Trail Map There will be TWO (2) hikes, both in the same park, but separated by a 10 minute drive.  The first hike is a quickie - just 1 mile and on flat grounds.  There are some interesting things to see on this short hike.  We will park by the lower red circle as shown in the picture to the right, indicated by "Entrance Station". The trailhead for hike #1 starts right here. After the first hike, we'll drive farther into the park, for about 3 miles, and start the second hike.  This short drive will take 10 minutes as it is a dirt road and we'll have to drive slowly. The second hike will be around 6-7 miles and may be like Purisima although not with as much altitude.  Expect around 1,000 ft climb altogether.  On this second hike, we'll see the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter.  (Did you know 10/17 was the 12th anniversary?)  We'll also see a lagoon and old wood mills.  It'll be interesting.  We will have lunch at the lagoon.  We will park by the upper red circle as shown in the picture to the right, indicated by "Porter Family Picnic Area". The trailhead for hike #2 starts right here.  We'll go on the loop as indicated in blue: Aptos Creek Fire Road to Aptos Creek Trail, then to Big Slide Trail where we'll have picnic at Whites Lagoon, then head west and back to parking via Aptos Creek Fired Road (past the Top of the Incline).

• Bring 2 to 3 bottles of water.  Bring light lunch that's easy to carry- we'll be eating it about half way through the hike (Whites Lagoon).
• Wear shorts and tee-shirts.  Bring sweatshirts and sweatpants just in case it's cold.  But as with other hikes, you'll warm up pretty quickly once we start hiking, especially on uphills, and we will have a uphill stretch in hike #2.
• Please be on time for this hike - it'll take over an hour to get to the park so we need to start early.  We will leave Bijan by 7:45 am!
• We will be driving on Rt 17, a winding road if you're not used to it.  Make sure you are able to drive Rt 17 or carpool with someone that can.  If you get motion sickness, you might want to take some medicine with you.  Once we get to Rt 1 via Rt 17, the road to the park is not curvy at all, so it's just Rt 17 you might have to think about a bit.
• If you have any questions, email me (pthuang@aol.com) or call me at (650) 814-1169 (cell).

• 1 to 2 bottles of water (I'll have extras if you forget)
• Suntan lotion (I'll have a bottle)
• Snacks - dried fruits, granola bars, etc.
• Sturdy shoes - hiking shoes or sneakers
• Sweatshirt/jacket (in case), sweatpants or shorts
• Hat (for sunny hikes)
• Money (for food if wanted)

- Halloween hike/get-together: Saturday 10/27/01.  Most likely an afternoon hike following by potluck.

- First time.

The following are not my pictures, I'm hereby acknowledging the sites that actually hold these pictures by placing links on the pictures.  I hope they are ok with my displaying the pictures here.  Please click on the pictures to see where they originated.

Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter, Forest of  Nisene Marks SP, near Aptos, CA (1990)

White's Lagoon (1,400 ft)