Just north of Santa Cruz along Highway 1 is a fantastic place for mountain bikers to play called Wilder Ranch. This property used to be a dairy farm but is now a California State Park. There are lots of old buildings from its previous incarnation but now it’s a place full of single-track trails, wide dirt paths, and fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean. There are hikers here too but mountain biking dominates the usage of the park trails. There are also equestrians on occasion, the horses are sometimes afraid of odd people on two wheels so it is best to give them a lot of room so they don’t get scared. This place is a mountain bikers’ paradise.

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You can enter the park directly on Coast Road off Highway 1 and use the parking lots but you will have to pay a parking fee to do so. There are restrooms here and a picnic area nearby. If you have the funds and want to support the park then this is a good option. If you are low on funds or don’t want to use the parking lot many mountain bikers park along highway 1 in a gravel pull-off and just go through the tunnel under the highway to get to the larger part of the park where the trails are. You’ll see the pull-off since there are always cars parked there. If you look at a Google map the pull-off is where the trail goes under the road.

The entry trail is wide and goes by an old horse coral area. It is a mild climb and not too strenuous. At the first left turn onto Wilder Ridge Loop. This trail is an elevation gain at a gradual pace. When the trail branches take the right fork. Since this is a loop trail both directions will be named Wilder Ridge Loop. You could go either way but I like to go to the viewing point first. Get all of the climbing out of the way so I can enjoy all the downhill all at once.

At the top of the climb is Wilder Ranch Vista Point. It’s just a dirt area with a picnic table but has the best view of the Pacific in the whole park. You can see the ocean in three directions and this is a good place to rest and enjoy the scenery. There isn’t any shade here so on a sunny day it can get hot but there is always a cool ocean breeze going on so not too shabby.

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When you feel rested hop on the trail again and continue the loop. At this point, you have already gained most of the elevation so it’s mostly downhill from here back to where you parked. The loop will go back to the fork where you made the right turn. At this point just go back the way you came.

After a hard day of riding, I like to retire to downtown Santa Cruz and reminisce about the trail over ice cream or something else decadent. It’s easy to get there. Just follow Highway 1 into town and exit on Laurel Street. It’ll take you right to the downtown area. Make sure to park on the street if you have an overhead bike rack. One time I forgot my bike was up there and pulled into one of the garages. Fortunately, my bike rack popped off the roof and my bike didn’t get damaged but a word to the wise, park on the street.

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