7/28/2019 Map Nisene Marks

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/map-nisene-marks 1/5

 Near

acres

a hus

panora

rom

The Forest o Nisene Marks

State Park 

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park  Aptos Creek Road, off Soquel and

State Park Drive, Aptos, CA 95003(831) 763-7062

Our MissionThe mission o Caliornia State Parks isto provide or the health, inspiration andeducation o the people o Caliornia by helpingto preserve the state’s extraordinary biologicaldiversity, protecting its most valued natural andcultural resources, and creating opportunities

or high-quality outdoor recreation.

 © 2012 California State Parks

Caliornia State Parks supports equal access.Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities whoneed assistance should contact the park at

(831) 763-7062. This publication can bemade available in alternate ormats. Contactinterp@parks.ca.ov or call (916) 654-2249.

CALIFORNIA STATE PARKSP.O. Box 942896

Sacramento, CA 94296-0001

For inormation call: (800) 777-0369.(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.

711, TTY relay service

 www.parks.ca.gov 

Discover the many states of California.™

SaveTheRedwoods.org/csp

7/28/2019 Map Nisene Marks

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/map-nisene-marks 2/5

PARK HISTORY 

The local rst people were the Costanoans

(now known as Ohlone). The native people

harvested resources on

the edges o the orest,

but little evidence exists

that they ever lived amongthese deep redwoods. Two

Mexican land grants to the

Castro amily in 1833 and

1844 partially orm the

boundaries o today’s park.

Shortly ater Caliornia

became a state in 1850,

loggers built wooden skids and used oxen

teams to drag smaller harvested trees

or “split stu” and tanbark. The orest’s

more reachable redwoods were milled

during the Gold Rush building boom, but

lumber interests ound the steep canyons

impenetrable or 

logging giant redwoods.

In 1880, however, the

Southern Pacic Railway

(SP) arrived in nearby

Monterey. SP nanced

the purchase o tree-

lled Upper Aptos

Canyon, the Loma

Prieta Lumber Company

and the Loma Prieta

Railway. Chinese laborers cut and graded the

rail line seven miles up the canyon. By 1883,

standard-gauge railway tracks had been builtto haul the huge redwood logs to mills.

he serene trails within The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park give scant hint o the

redwood orest’s turbulent natural and human history. For centuries, the jagged terrain o 

these 10,000 acres saved the original trees rom loggers and settlers. Today the second- and

third-growth orest canopy in earthquake country shades a recreational oasis with 30 miles o 

maintained trails and roads or hiking, biking and running.

 T 

Historic logger’s

The 1880s co

part o today’s

estimated at $

Loma Prieta M

the 19th-centu

until disastrou

Francisco’s 190

logging eorts

Reorestation

company plan

non-native eu

resumed rom

o Loma Prieta

abandoned—

board eet o r

The Marks a

than 9,000 acre

public park in Nisene (a Dan

deed specied

be used or ca

study. Other d

acreage to nea

o Nisene Mar

and preservat

Loggers on platorm supported by springboards, ca. 1895 

   P    h   o   t   o

   c   o   u   r   t   e   s  y   o    f   t    h   e   S   a   n   t   a   C   r   u  z   M   u   s   e   u   m    o

    f   A   r   t   a   n    d   H   i   s   t

   o   r  y

7/28/2019 Map Nisene Marks

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/map-nisene-marks 3/5

Fetid adder’s ton

smelling plant, gro

along the Buggy Tr

Five percent o t

Northern maritime

coyote brush and w

Other habitats in

needlegrass grassl

riparian orest.

The Forest’s

diverse

topography,

abundant water,

and varied plant

lie support many

species o wildlieincluding raccoons

cougar, deer,

yellow-legged rog

and the popular 

banana slug. Nativ

birds include the

American dipper,

 winter wren, and

saw-whet owl.Coho salmon and

steelhead spawn

in the Bridge and

Aptos creeks.

HABITATS

In the cool and quiet semi-wilderness o the

park, tall trees shelter creeks and canyons.

Park elevation ranges rom sea level to more

than 2,600 eet. The park contains grassland,

scrub, chaparral, woodland and orest

riparian communities.

Eighty percent o the hilly park 

is covered in coast redwood

(Sequoia sempervirens ) orest,

 with trees ranging in age

rom 80 to 120 years old and

reaching 125 eet tall. These

second- and third-growth

redwoods oten sprout

rom the collar surrounding

cut stumps; the sprouts areusually genetically identical

to the parent tree. A ew

old-growth redwoods still

survive within the park.

Redwood species

once grew throughout

Asia, Europe and North

America. The remaining

range o coast redwood islimited to the Pacic Coast

og belt between Oregon and

the Big Sur coast.

Scientists ear that climate

change, with decreasing og

and increasing temperatures,

 will result in even more

redwood habitat loss.

Sequoia sempervirens 

 ACCESSIBLE INFO

Accessibility is con

but there are curre

accessible activitieupdates, visit http

gEOLOgY 

Three earthquake

aults—San

Andreas, San

Gregorio and

Zayante—

infuence thepark’s geology.

The San Gregorio

Fault runs slightly

southeast o park 

boundaries. The

Zayante Fault

crosses the park’s

Aptos Creek 

Canyon while

the San Andreas

Fault, extending

nearly the entire

length o the state,

parallels the park’s

northeastern

border below Santa Rosalia Ridge.

The San Andreas Fault’s devastating 6.9

magnitude earthquake caused upheaval

throughout Northern Caliornia in 1989.That quake was named ater Loma Prieta

(“dark hill”), the mountain near the

quake’s epicenter in the park.

Ancient sea foor sedimentary rocks—

mostly sandstone, chert and siltstone with

embedded marine ossils—are ound in

the Aptos and Bridge creekbeds. For most

o the park’s history, it was a shallow inland

sea. The park’s unstable sandy and loamysoil is susceptible to landslides.

Trees shited by the 

Loma Prieta quake 

twist as they grow to 

sel correct.

7/28/2019 Map Nisene Marks

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/map-nisene-marks 4/5

Th

De

no

by

o

Ad

ridor

Tra

Cre

RECREATION

The park lies north o 

Aptos Village on Aptos

Creek Road in Santa Cruz

County. Weather can be

changeable year round.

Picnic tables andbarbecue pits are

available. Trail campsites

are located six miles rom

the trail camp parking

lot at the West Ridge

Trailhead. The trail camp

has no water, and res are prohibited. To

reserve, call the Sunset State Beach kiosk 

at (831) 763-7063.

Trails

Loma Prieta Grade Trail ollows a steam

railway bed rom the mill to Homan’s

Historic Site, named ater a logging

superintendent. This site was a camp that

once housed 100 loggers and mill workers.

PLEASE REMEMBER

• All natural and cultural eatures are

protected by law and may not be

disturbed or removed.

• To prevent erosion o the slopes, stay on

marked trails; observe all trail postings.

• By law, bicycling and mountain biking are

allowed only on the Aptos Creek Fire Road

and our single-track trails below its steelbridge. Cyclists may use the Aptos Rancho

Trail, the S

Trail and t

• Except or

allowed o

and our s

above) be

are prohib

Porter pic

must be a

longer thaMaple Falls at end of Bridge Creek Trail 

7/28/2019 Map Nisene Marks

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/map-nisene-marks 5/5

NEARBY STATE PARKS• Seacli State Beach

State Park Drive, Aptos 95001

(831) 685-6442

• New Brighton State Beach

1500 Park Ave., Hwy 1, Capitola 95010

(831) 763-7062

• Sunset State Beach

201 Sunset Beach Rd., Watsonville 95076

(831) 763-7063

This park receives support in part rom a nonprot organization. For inormation, contact the

Friends o Santa Cruz State Parks at (831) 429-1840 or  www.thatsmypark.or