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6 LIVE IT UP! FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017 SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL mores, open grassland, and poten- tially a few animals. e trail ends at the Mountain Parks Foundation's Nature Store, which sells—among other things—detailed topographic maps. To return, take the River Trail which has "lush streamside vegeta- tion, waterfowl and steelhead trout" according the official site. ose interested in the Observation Deck hike, which has an elevation change of 250 feet, can read more details on the site, which offers a few sugges- tions for easy, moderate and strenu- ous hikes. Note that there are two different hikes listed for Observation Deck; the easier one begins at the Powdermill Fire Road campground while the moderate five-mile one be- gins at the visitor center. A highlight of both: it's one of the few places you can see Ponderosa Pines below 3,000 feet in elevation. For a moderate hike, Ellmore rec- ommends one of his favorites: "Start with the first half of the Redwood Loop to the River Trail, then up the Ridge Fire Road to the Overlook Bench and a wonderful ocean view," shares Ellmore. "en, continue on the Ridge Fire Road to the Observa- tion Deck (highest point in the park). Take the Pine Trail to the Eagle Creek Trail, then Pipeline Fire Road to the second half of the Redwood Loop." e total hike is approximately five miles. Other moderate-level hikes include Cathedral Redwoods, Kiln Ruins, and Cowell Highlights Loop. ese range from three to 5.9 miles. Cowell Highlights Loop, which is great for people who have an entire day to spend hiking, includes Cable Car Beach. is is, as the site men- tions, a "good place to finish with an aernoon swim" if you're visiting on a warm day. Visit the park's web site for guid- ance on a couple strenuous hikes, one of which—Four Crossings—is only open July to October. Depending on when you have a chance to visit the park, Ellmore has a couple suggestions. "is time of year, during summer, the Fall Creek Unit of our park can be absolutely beautiful," he says. "No dogs or bikes are allowed, but the hike up to the lime kilns is a really nice hike through basically a 100-year-old forest." e Fall Creek Unit, open for day use only, has nearly 20 miles of connected trails. e site describes this unit as "a second-growth red- wood forest with a fern-lined river canyon and remnants of a successful lime-processing industry." Parking and trailheads are marked on Felton Empire Road off Highway 9. Interested in a hike during an- other season? "Spring hikes in the Sandhills section of the park (off Graham Hill Road) can be absolutely spectacular when everything is just starting to bloom," says Ellmore. e Santa Cruz Sandhills, Ellmore explains, is an amazing ecosystem created from what was once the ocean floor (millions of years ago). "It is home to several unique species of flora and fauna that can be found nowhere else in the world," he adds. Something that many people may not be aware of is that there are actually four completely different ecosystems all within the same park. In addition to the aforementioned Sandhills, there is—of course—the Redwood forest. "But we also have C o n t i n u e D F r o m 5 C o n t i n u e s o n 7 FoUr TIPs For FIrsT-TImE hEnry CowELL rEdwoods sTaTE Park VIsITors (from Steven Ellmore, State Interpreter I at the State Park) 1. Know what poison oak looks like, and watch out for it while hiking! 2. Wear appropriate clothing; it is usually about ten degrees colder beneath the redwoods than out in the sun. 3. If you are hoping to see a banana slug, try looking in the morning on a cool day. Once it warms up and dries out, they tend to hide. 4. Don't forget to look up: a lot of these trees can be over 250 feet tall.

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