Best National Forest San Jose Near Me

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Zayante Trail, River Trail, and Rincon Fire Road from Pipeline Road to River Trail Connector are closed due to severe damage from recent winter storms.

View our guided hikes and other public programs schedule and make a reservation by visiting our Parks Events page!

You can now pay parking fees on your smartphone by using the free Yodel app at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park! Yodel is secure and simple. All you need is a smartphone and a credit card. A multi-factor authentication protects users while the app’s evolving QR code prevents repeat pass usage.

With this new pay-by-phone option, you can pay for parking fees prior to arriving at the park or continue paying at the kiosk upon arrival with cash or credit card.

Download Yodel on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store or by scanning the QR code.

Please note: Yodel is available to pay for parking entrance fees for day-use only. Visitors are advised that pay-by-phone is not a reservation and entry is subject to availability at each park unit. If parking lots are full, visitors should wait to park before taking advantage of the pay-by-phone option. All sales are final and there are no cancellations or refunds.

This park is Crumb Clean! Watch this short video to learn about the marbled murrelet, an endangered bird that nests in the park, and how you can protect it. Vea el video en español aquí.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is most famous for the 40-acre grove of towering old-growth redwood trees. Its historical significance and spectacular scenery draw travelers from around the world. Visitors can enjoy hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, and camping on more than 4,650 acres of forested and open land. These skyscraping redwoods were admired by explorer John C. Frémont, President Theodore Roosevelt, and inspired some of California’s earliest redwood preservation efforts. Take a walk beyond the redwood grove and you’ll find four diverse habitats that this park preserves: grasslands, river/riparian, sandhills, and redwoods. The tallest tree in the park is approximately 277 feet tall, about 16 feet wide, and around 1,500 years old. Keen-eyed visitors may spot banana slugs, black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, or steelhead trout.

A few miles north is the Fall Creek Unit– a second-growth redwood forest with a fern-lined river canyon and remnants of a successful lime-processing industry. Fall Creek is open for day use only, and includes almost twenty miles of connecting trails. Parking and trailheads are marked on Felton Empire Road off Highway 9.

The park’s campground is situated in a mixed evergreen forest and is near the Santa Cruz Sandhills habitat – a rare ancient marine deposits home to endangered animals and plants. Although the campground is linked to the day-use area by trails, vehicles must enter the campground east of Felton, via Graham Hill Road.

EXPERIENCE THE REDWOODS – Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park preserves a 40-acre old-growth redwood grove. This unique ecosystem of ancient coast redwood trees has captured the interest and dedication of many people throughout time. On this 0.8-mile (1.2km) flat loop trail, you will discover the survival adaptation of the coast redwood and the inspiration this grove holds that led to its protection. The largest tree is approximately 277 feet tall and about 1,500 years old. Take a flashlight and step inside the famous Fremont Tree. There’s room for the whole family! Stop by the Visitor Center for a self-guided brochure, download an audio tour, or view the park events webpage for dates and times of guided tours.

HIKING - For a list of recomended hikes, please click here.

BICYCLING - For a list of recomended bicycle routes, please click here.

PARK EVENTS–We offer a variety of free interpretive programs throughout the year. To see a list of upcoming events and activities, please click here.

CAMPING–The park’s 107-site lies in a shady pine and oak forest, and a separate entrance from the day-use area, which is located off Graham Hill Road in Scotts Valley. Reservations are highly recommended between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For more information, please click here. To make reservations, please visit www.reservecalifornia.com.

ROARING CAMP RAILROAD–Roaring Camp Railroad, a tourist railroad business next to Henry Cowell, is a heritage railway with authentic 1880’s steam locomotives operating on our Redwood Forest Steam Train excursion and 1920's era Beach Trains to Santa Cruz. Visit www.roaringcamp.com or call 831-335-4484 for more information.

CAN WE DRIVE THROUGH A GIANT TREE? There are no trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains that you can drive a vehicle through.

There are three trees in northern California that you can drive through. All are located along US Route 101, far north of Santa Cruz County: