Soquel
Demonstration State Forest
California Department of Forestry,
Santa Cruz County
In brief:
4.7 mile out and back in a preserve wildly popular with mountain bikers.
Getting there:
From CA 17 at the border between Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, exit Summit
Road. Drive south on Summit Road about 4 miles, at which point Soquel-San Jose
Road departs to the right, and Summit turns into Highland Way. Continue straight
on Highland Way (there's no stop sign heading south or north). At the junction
with Mount Bache, about 1 mile further south, turn right and then quickly left
at Spanish Ranch Road to remain on Highland. Continue on Highland about another
4.3 miles, then park on the right side of the road near the signed entrance.
Trailhead details:
No parking or entrance fees. No toilet facilities or water. Side of road parking
(an interior lot is sometimes open, but access is often restricted). Maps available
inside the forest, at an information kiosk (not visible from the road). No designated
handicapped parking, and trails are not suitable for wheelchairs. There is no
direct public transportation to this forest.
Gas, food, and lodging:
There is a small grocery store (with pay phones) on Summit, about 5 miles from
the forest. No gas or restaurants nearby. No camping.
Rules:
Dogs permitted on leash. Open dawn to dusk. Trails are multi-use.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 4.7 mile out and back hike is easy, with about 400 feet in
elevation change, but other options increase the hiking difficulty considerably.
Trailhead elevation is around 1625 feet. The main trail, a wide fire road, heads
downhill from there, with elevation near the western border of about 500 feet.
If you elect to hike the Sulphur Springs/Corral Trail Loop, you'll climb to over
2000 feet. This is a destination with long trails and plenty of elevation changes.
The Official Story:
Park office 831-475-8643
CDF's Soquel
page
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's Monterey Bay Region map to get there (the state forest
is not shown on the map, but it is just to the east of Forest of Nisene Marks).
• Trails of Santa Cruz, by Pease Press (order
from Pease Press) shows Soquel Demonstration Forest trails in great detail.
• Map
from CDF (download the pdf).
• Call the park office (831-475-8643) and ask them to mail you a map.
• Tom Taber's The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book has a simple map
(order
this book from Amazon.com).
Soquel
Demonstration Forest in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide
to the featured hike.
As I walked through Soquel Demonstration State Forest,
a recurring thought nagged me: could I enjoy myself here if this wasn't a demonstration
forest? Would it possible for me to turn a blind eye to the logging trucks, and
the obvious ongoing "wood harvesting?" Could I admire a particularly
scenic and sturdy redwood year after year, or would the giant be gone next time?
After all, Soquel's woods are a lot like other forested hillsides of Santa Cruz
Mountains parks and preserves, with thick stands of Douglas fir, redwood, tanoak,
and madrone. As nearly all of the bay area was logged extensively, our present
publicly-owned forests are comprised predominantly of 
second-growth
trees. But, no bay area publicly-owned recreation areas are actively logged, with
the exception of state demonstration forests. California manages 8 of these forests,
comprising around 71,000 acres. Soquel, with about 2,681 acres, is the only publicly-accessible
demonstration forest in the bay area. Demonstration forests offer recreation as
a secondary use; their primary function is to conduct research projects on forest
management, and of course, to log.
Soquel Demonstration Forest is an ideal location
for mountain biking, and should you choose to hike here, you will be in the minority.
Cyclists zip up and down the forest's fire roads and singletrack trails (some
of which aren't on the official map), and many combine a visit to Soquel with
rides into Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, which abuts Soquel to the west.
Hikers must trek 2.3 miles downhill into the forest
to reach an initial junction.
From here a nearly 4-mile loop is possible, with elevation climbing from around
1350 feet to almost 2400 feet, and then dropping back to the junction. Add that
to the hike back up to the trailhead for an over 8 mile trek. Old growth redwoods
can be seen from the lower reaches of Hihn's Mill Road, near Badger Springs, about
a 9.5 mile out-and-back hike. A few other loops are possible, but they are even
longer and require you to hike over 1000 feet back uphill back to the trailhead.
It easy to see the allure for cyclists; this forest is made much more friendly
with the assistance of two wheels.
Start at the roadside parking along Highland
Way. (There is an interior parking area, but access to it is sometimes obstructed.)
Walk over the bridge crossing Soquel Creek, then ascend briefly on a wide fire
road, Hihn's Mill Road. Be alert for vehicular traffic, including logging
trucks. 
As
the fire road crests, you'll pass through a cleared flat area, which is the interior
parking lot. Soon after, there's a gate and an information kiosk, with a detailed
topographical map of the forest under glass (unfortunately the free paper map
has much less detail). Hihn's Mill Road takes a nearly level course initially,
as it passes through a forest of Douglas fir, madrone, tanoak, and redwood, with
some California bay and big-leaf maple as well. Huge cut stumps are conspicuous.
In the understory, look for currant, thimbleberry, hazelnut, ferns, and a few
huckleberry shrubs. Hound's tongue and trillium are common in spring. Some cleared
hillsides support small amounts of creambush, ceanothus, and toyon. Although the
dirt fire road is scored with tire tracks, you might see evidence of animals as
well. Snake trails and skunk paw prints were evident on my visit. The trail begins
a more serious but still easy descent, downslope of a forested ridge, with a few
seasonal creeks plummeting downhill to meet the East Branch of Soquel Creek. Some
damp areas foster extravagant displays of giant chain fern and elk clover. You
may notice a sulphur smell along some stretches of trail. Stay alert for downhill
bicycle traffic. At 2.37 miles, you'll reach a signed junction with Sulphur
Springs Trail, on the left. If you'd like to extend a hike, continue to the
left or straight. Otherwise, retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 4.74 miles
Last hiked: Friday, July 6, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
a recurring thought nagged me: could I enjoy myself here if this wasn't a demonstration
forest? Would it possible for me to turn a blind eye to the logging trucks, and
the obvious ongoing "wood harvesting?" Could I admire a particularly
scenic and sturdy redwood year after year, or would the giant be gone next time?
After all, Soquel's woods are a lot like other forested hillsides of Santa Cruz
Mountains parks and preserves, with thick stands of Douglas fir, redwood, tanoak,
and madrone. As nearly all of the bay area was logged extensively, our present
publicly-owned forests are comprised predominantly of 
second-growth
trees. But, no bay area publicly-owned recreation areas are actively logged, with
the exception of state demonstration forests. California manages 8 of these forests,
comprising around 71,000 acres. Soquel, with about 2,681 acres, is the only publicly-accessible
demonstration forest in the bay area. Demonstration forests offer recreation as
a secondary use; their primary function is to conduct research projects on forest
management, and of course, to log. 
From here a nearly 4-mile loop is possible, with elevation climbing from around
1350 feet to almost 2400 feet, and then dropping back to the junction. Add that
to the hike back up to the trailhead for an over 8 mile trek. Old growth redwoods
can be seen from the lower reaches of Hihn's Mill Road, near Badger Springs, about
a 9.5 mile out-and-back hike. A few other loops are possible, but they are even
longer and require you to hike over 1000 feet back uphill back to the trailhead.
It easy to see the allure for cyclists; this forest is made much more friendly
with the assistance of two wheels.
As
the fire road crests, you'll pass through a cleared flat area, which is the interior
parking lot. Soon after, there's a gate and an information kiosk, with a detailed
topographical map of the forest under glass (unfortunately the free paper map
has much less detail). Hihn's Mill Road takes a nearly level course initially,
as it passes through a forest of Douglas fir, madrone, tanoak, and redwood, with
some California bay and big-leaf maple as well. Huge cut stumps are conspicuous.
In the understory, look for currant, thimbleberry, hazelnut, ferns, and a few
huckleberry shrubs. Hound's tongue and trillium are common in spring. Some cleared
hillsides support small amounts of creambush, ceanothus, and toyon. Although the
dirt fire road is scored with tire tracks, you might see evidence of animals as
well. Snake trails and skunk paw prints were evident on my visit. The trail begins
a more serious but still easy descent, downslope of a forested ridge, with a few
seasonal creeks plummeting downhill to meet the East Branch of Soquel Creek. Some
damp areas foster extravagant displays of giant chain fern and elk clover. You
may notice a sulphur smell along some stretches of trail. Stay alert for downhill
bicycle traffic. At 2.37 miles, you'll reach a signed junction with Sulphur
Springs Trail, on the left. If you'd like to extend a hike, continue to the
left or straight. Otherwise, retrace your steps back to the trailhead.