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Santa Cruz Mountains Review

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Santa Cruz Mountains

Category: Scenic Drives
Location: Santa Cruz

Fodor's Review:

Highway 9 heads northeast from Santa Cruz into hills densely timbered with massive coastal redwoods. The road winds through the lush San Lorenzo Valley, past hamlets consisting of a few cafés, antiques shops, and old-style tourist cabins. Here, residents of the hunting-and-fishing persuasion coexist with hardcore flower-power survivors and wannabes. Along Highway 9 and its side roads are about a dozen wineries, most notably Bonny Doon Vineyard, Organic Wineworks, and David Bruce Winery. The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association distributes a wine-touring map at many lodgings and attractions around Santa Cruz.

On your way into Felton (Hwy. 9, 7 mi north of Santa Cruz. 831/345-2084. www.slvchamber.org), stop at the tiny, brick-red Bigfoot Discovery Museum, then take a walk in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Off Graham Hill Road in town are a covered bridge and Roaring Camp Railroads, where you can take a vintage train to Bear Mountain year-round or down the San Lorenzo Gorge to Santa Cruz Main Beach in summer. Ben Lomond (Hwy. 9, 3 mi north of Felton. 831/345-2084. www.slvchamber.org) has the rough-hewn Henfling's Tavern, which presents a broad spectrum of live American and international music, and the kitschy chalet-style Tyrolean Inn, a Bavarian restaurant (no lunch) offering German beer and music. For its over-the-top architecture alone, the supposedly haunted Brookdale Lodge (11570 Hwy. 9, Brookdale. 831/338-6433. www.brookdalelodge.com), a few miles north of Ben Lomond, is worth a stop. A natural brook runs through the multilevel 1920s dining room (no lunch), and the lounge presents serious rock and blues acts. In Boulder Creek (Hwy. 9, 2 mi north of Brookdale. 831/345-2084. www.slvchamber.org), buildings from the 1880s-1920s line the main street; pick up the walking-tour pamphlet, available at many local businesses, to learn more. Boulder Creek is the gateway to Big Basin Redwoods State Park (Hwy. 236, Big Basin Way, 9 mi northwest of Boulder Creek, Boulder Creek. 831/338-8860. www.parks.ca.gov). In California's oldest state park (established in 1902), more than 80 mi of hiking trails thread through redwood groves and past waterfalls.