A big perk of homeschooling in Santa Cruz County is the variety of scenic hikes we can use for P.E. One of our favorites is Sunset Trail, in Quail Hollow County Park. It’s a hidden gem, rewarding hikers with fairy-tale views, and a sometimes steep, intermediate workout of 2.8 miles round trip.
Click here to learn more about Quail Hollow County Park.
Park at the ranch house. It once belonged to the family who owned Sunset Magazine!
We hiked along the Chaparral Loop to the lower end of Sunset Trail. This was the last we saw of the boys until we met them coming back down!
Sunset Trail takes us through a variety of vegetation. The lower part runs along a hillside that receives plenty of sunshine. It’s very sandy and dry. I think it could be home to the Mount Hermon June Beetle, an endangered species endemic to the Zayante Sandhills. I’m not sure if this area actually is part of those sandhills, but it looks suitable. We’re going to research the insect during the summer months, when it emerges from underground.
We’re so blessed with gorgeous scenery! The picture below was taken from the lower end of Sunset Trail.
Where the trail winds right, the habitat abruptly changes to cool redwood forest. A hiker with an ancient but determined Labrador offered to take our picture. He probably mistook us for tourists, seeing me take pictures right and left!
We took a break at the Boy Scouts bench, enjoying the view from about half way up.
The native madrone tree has vibrantly colored wood. The bark curls off, leaving a smooth surface. It glowed richly in the low sunlight!
My goofy girl in front of a stand of redwoods.
The guys on the way down, before we got to the top. What gives?!
Finally, the top!
And here’s the reward:
Told ya! Fairy-tale views! They remind me of scenes from a princess castle video game my daughter used to play.
I took so many more pictures I wish I could share with you. But this post would be too long; so you’ll have to go see it yourself!
The park hosts many educational activities for children. For younger children, consider the Meadow Loop. It’s a great, easy nature walk!
We went up there today and chatted with an expert on the area. He said it *is* part of the Zayante sandhills, and as you know this sand used to be mined. It’s apparently very high quality for mixing with cement to use in construction. He showed us two types of manzanitas, a common one with deep green leaves and one with dustier looking bluish leaves, called Bonny Doon manzanita, which is fairly rare because it’s endemic to this kind of sand. He also told us about the Ben Lomond Spineflower, an endangered species which is also endemic to Z.S., but we’ll have to look for those come spring. Thanks again for the awesome hike suggestion!
http://www.santacruzsandhills.com/endemic_plants.html
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Wow, thanks so much for this information! We do live in a very special area. I hope we can preserve our endemic species.
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looks like a lovely time–yep the VIEW is 100% worth it!
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Looks wonderful, Lisa, and so close to home (Felton)! This is a great alternative to Fall Creek when time is short, environment is so different from the lime kiln area. Thanks!
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Thanks for reminding me about the Kilns! That is another great hike, though as you say I think it’s a little longer than Sunset Trail.
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What lovely views!! Thanks for sharing!
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You’re welcome!
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The view is majestic!
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Chris worked with the Boy Scout team that did some improvements on that trail, including the benches. It was an Eagle project for one of the scouts in his troop. I think it would be amazing to be at the top of the trail around sunset (so there would be enough light to make it back down!). For those who don’t want to do the whole trail from the ranch house, you can access it from Quail Hollow Road, with a place to park the car on the side of the road, cutting off at least half the distance.
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Yes, Chris told us about the benches; that’s how I knew they were a boy scout project. We’re thankful for their hard work!
I think it would be hard to get back down before dark, although it would be an awesome place to watch the sunset. I’m always nervous about mountain lions, though.
Thanks for commenting, Sue!
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Looks like an awesome place. The madrone trees are really neat. I’ve never seen trees like that before.
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Yes, a lot of people focus on the redwoods, but there are lots of other neat trees around here. I’m very thankful to live in such a beautiful place.
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Lisa, this looks absolutely stunning! Sure beats running around a school gym. Beautiful!
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I’m really thankful we have these parks in our area! We’ll save the gym for rainy days…
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Another incident where the hard work climbing up pays for itself with the awesome view.
It does look gorgeous.
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