Hike to a Magical Sea Cave (1 Hour from SF)
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Wilder Ranch State Park | 1842 Coast Road, Santa Cruz, CA
Free / Learn More
Submitted by the Event Organizer
Here’s a great free weekend hike idea from SFGATE’s Grant Marek.
In a state filled with magical outdoors things, Fern Grotto Beach in Santa Cruz’s Wilder Ranch State Park is a talking unicorn. And not just because it looks like a set from Indiana Jones.
Getting There:
Wilder Ranch State Park is open 8 a.m. to sunset. Start the loop hike at the Wilder Ranch State Park day use parking lot at 1842 Coast Road, Santa Cruz, Calif. Parking is $10.
At the midpoint of the 2.5-mile Old Cove Landing Trail you’ll find yourself standing directly underneath the mouth of Fern Grotto Beach’s sea cave.
The cave is carved into the beach’s sandstone cliffs, just below an underground spring that feeds a majestic curtain of emerald ferns that hang just above its entrance.
The brooding view into the cave from the front is worthy of a dark fairytale, but the reverse is something else entirely. You can see from inside the depths of the cave past the foliage-filled opening and out to the waves crashing on the accompanying beach – probably why there’s a bench-sized log placed in perfect view of it all.
For more hikes in the Bay Area and around California, check out SFGATE Outdoors.
- San Francisco’s easiest and prettiest hike ends at a waterfall
- This Bay Area park was at the center of California’s other gold rush
- An hour from SF, Rock City is the Bay Area’s answer to Joshua Tree
- Most drivers miss the turn to this ‘hidden’ Bay Area black sand beach
Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.
Cost: FREE*
