Forest of Nisene Marks State Park

Great hiking spot with different trails to choose from. Went there over the weekend and hiked to maple falls! Great views throughout the hike!

This place is beautiful. The entrance road is an easy stroll without any steep inclines that is perfect for families to take a quick walk. Dogs are allowed around the picnic area and entrance road as long as they are on leashes. There are so many joggers and cyclists. Be prepared to share the trails with cyclists; some will be speeding down the hills at a very fast speed. The majority are great at informing you of their approach. Both my friend and I could not get any cellphone service while on the hike. If you need to make a phone call, it might be a good idea to bring some coins to use the designated telephone booths. There are several porta-​potties along the entrance road. Once you hit the main trails, we weren’t able to find any restroom around. Parking was $ 8.
We went on a rainy day. The ground was muddy and slippery. I highly encourage wearing shoes or hiking boots with good traction. A poncho or waterproof hoodie jacket will come in handy. If you have difficulties descending down slippery trails, I suggest bringing your trekking poles. Remember to bring food/​snacks and plenty of water since there is no vending machines available to the rescue.
Have you ever listened to deep sleep music with raindrops? When it rains here, it literally sounds like a recording from those relaxing & sleep-​inducing soundtracks. The raindrops pitter pattering and water stream splashing over the rocks were both meditative and peaceful. It was delightful to be surrounded by tall green trees with the beauty of nature, a nice getaway from technology and be off the grid. My friend and I were searching for the waterfall, and ended up hiking for 6 hours, covering a total of 40,973 steps on the fitbit. It’s definitely a great place for a good workout. Don’t forget your camera. Plenty of photo-​ops all around.

Its great it smells so fresh in that forest like mountain spring detergent. I understand those commercials (where the lady smells her towel and shes suddenly in front a river outdoors) better now. Its not polluted at all, the water in the river is crystal clear and refreshing cool. The waterfall disappointed me because I expected a waterfall, that was a tall fountain at best and the walk (2 hours) i didnt feel was worth it. But i still go i just dont go too deep in there. I post up at the beginning they have nice picnic areas, nice for a date. Definitely if you are a runner thats a real nice place to train. Everyone i pass on the trail is friendly and smiles. I mostly see couples its a really romantic place. If you are looking for adventure this is not really the place if you are looking to take someone special then i strongly reccomend. Its not really a place for kids to go play. And theres no creepy people or bums hiding in there that ive ever come across. Super clean.

My family has had a property in the park for about 20 years now, and I am enjoying it more than ever as I take my kids on hikes through the woods. There are a couple of the ancient, unlogged trees still that we always make a trip to. Nothing will make you feel quite so small in the universe as standing at the base of one of these trees and looking up.
You will want to bring your best camera, snacks, water, and good shoes. And layers! It always seems about 10 degrees cooler in the forrest than everywhere else.

Take a camera! Oh, and snacks! Don’t forget about snacks!
$ 8 to park at the entrance station. Looks like a little shack. You can park there or go up a little further.
There is so much to explore… fallen trees to walk across, hills and boulders to climb, streams to cross. Everywhere you look, you see green! We never found the waterfall but we weren’t really trying. We were distracted by everything there was to see on the way to it and ran out of time. Lots of bikers, joggers, people with dogs. Didn’t see any horses. Can’t wait to come back! Gotta start earlier next time! January 2016

The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always
— John Steinbeck
The redwoods here at the Forest of Nisene Marks are of the logged, thin second growth type. It is a beautiful park but the scenery can be a bit monotonous. Especially when your ten mile trek to Maple Falls turns into a cramp filled 15 mile death march because of poor planning. After the recent rains, Maple Falls is lovely but it will be even lovelier next February or March after the El Nino passes through.
Enjoy the hike, enjoy the outdoors…

We are so very lucky to have this State Park in Aptos and so readily available. It’s a wonderful place to explore with lots of shade. So many miles to explore on foot or bike. Waterfalls and creeks. A special place to behold.

Weird and occasionally overwhelming chlorine smell (and other bad, unidentified aromas) all through the park, especially near the water (Aptos Creek). We were on the trails at 6−7am. We filled our lungs with what we anticipated to be clean fresh air and… started coughing immediately.
I really recommend trails that go high up and don’t follow the creek (we took the Aptos Creek trail to get to Sand Point Overlook). The area close to the water is also full of flies and mosquitos (you can hear a constant buzz around you). Once we got higher up (close to Sand Point) the bad smell was almost unnoticeable.
It could be from some residences close to the park entrance or they may be spraying next to the water to kill bugs… or there’s something even more toxic happening.
It may be better to hike here during the cold months — fewer bugs, less decomposing wood, less need for toxic substances.
I agree with the other reviews: $ 8 entry fee (faith system) yet the signs are minimal. We managed not not get lost; I had a previously downloaded very detailed pdf map of the park — which was more helpful than what you can get at the entrance. I had no cellphone signal here of course. I used the pdf on parks dot gov website.
Yes, it’s bike friendly and occasionally hiker unfriendly: a few bikers’ speeds were fairly unsafe for the sometimes narrow and winding trails.
The view from Sand Point Overlook was great. We had fairly clear skies, enough for a very nice view/​photo op.
There’s a fairly long car ride to get to the head of the trail — on a pretty rough, one lane fire road. Come early or don’t come at all. At 1pm, getting out, the traffic (both cars and hikers/​bikers) was already pretty bad and the road became annoying to navigate with plenty of opportunities to end up in the ditch beside it. I guess we could have walked the narrow fire road but that’s an extra 2 mile stretch that’s occasionally shaded and not very scenic.

This enchanted forest on the edge of town is a local landmark. It’s magnificent trees and valleys are a great way to escape the heat of the day and marvel at the wonders of nature. Great for kids and dogs, too!

First off, I’ve been spoiled. I lived in the northwest and currently live in Jackson, WY… Both areas of abundant public lands that are well maintained. I was appalled at the complete lack of funding and attention this park receives from whoever claims to be managing these parks. This is a popular, easily accessible state park, and yet money and sweat are not going into maintaining this beautiful land. From disgusting toilets (I’d much rather dig a whole and squat in the woods) to nearly no trail signs, to illegal trails that are not blocked off, to higher up and out trails that are fallen tree blocked and overgrown… The high impact in some areas of the forest is so disheartening and I truly believe lost people are just stomping around in a condensed area trying to figure out the most logical path — forget the one they want! I trekked 17+ miles today around the old growth area and out to Five Finger Falls. Turns out there are no falls in a drought… No fault of the forest. But I would have inquired with a park ranger on the falls status if there had been one around… On second thought they probably wouldn’t have known.

Pretty cool park close to my home in Santa Cruz allot of bikers and people on the lower trails. Great day hiking place, on the upper trails. I didn’t see a single soul, which was super cool. Nice place to connect back with the mountains

Awesome hike to Maple Falls, especially along Bridge Creek trail! Fun to zigzag across the creek on the way to Maple Falls. Beautiful little falls. Though some recommend coming back along Loma Prieta Grade trail, there’s not a whole lot to it — it adds another mile and a half for nothing spectacular. Better to come back along Bridge Creek trail again.
Quiet trails with no crowds even on weekends.
No problem with parking, even at the last spot near the Porter Family Picnic Area. Remember to drop off the $ 8 parking fee near the park entrance.

I havent gone hiking in forever and when my friends told me it was 6 miles AND i had to wake up early??! … i thought i was gonna die LOL. Fortunately, the hike itself isnt too hard, pretty good for beginners and a good start for intermediate hiking.
There is parking, which i think is $ 8-​$ 10. At first the road is pretty wide, enough for a car, but its actually for bikers, walkers and joggers. But it splits into two roads — one for hikers and one for bikers. We took the hiking trail up toward Maple Falls. The forest is gorgeous — with lots of redwoods and other tree formations. There are also lots of little streams and resting spots as well. Pretty picturesque.
We started the trail around 1130am and got to Maple Falls around 130pm. The falls itself is not superrr huge, but still pretty. I’m sure it would have been prettier or bigger if we werent in a drought… Theres a huge tree branch that sits in the middle of the falls and its only held up by the skinny end part. It MAY look stable to climb (i thought it was) but it gets kinda wobbly in the middle, so i dont really suggest you try climbing it… Ive seen some pictures from before where others have stood on it, close to the falls, but i think those were old and the water had not worn down or eroded the wood that much yet.
Just a tip, make sure you bring someone who knows their way around the park because you might get lost! The trail isnt clearly marked and we went the wrong way a few times (even though my friends have gone once or twice already). and BRING WATER! and snacks! (or eat beforehand). We got back to our car around 4pm, so the hike itself took almost 6 hours.

FOR BEGINNERS:
My husband and hiked the Apton somethin trail to the five finger somethin trail! Sorry too lazy from this hike to look up the names anyhow! Boy that kicked our asses! Idk what the heck it meant by 3−4miles bc that WHOLE thing felt like at least 15miles & we used to hike Alum rock on the regular which is 12miles! The thing I didn’t like the most was that there were no signs once you were waaaayyyy out in the middle of the hike! I could literally count the amount of signs this park has, there’s a small post at the start of any trail & then 2−3miles out your kind is stuck with a couple forks in the road, hoping your going the right way! This hike was tough! Plus we started later than usual so I got scary towards the end! My advice is rent a fucking bike or make sure you’re in shape if you’re trying to get to the 5 finger falls. And not to kill it but the pics make that waterfall look 10x’s better/​bigger than it is! I appreciate nature and all don’t get me wrong, just letting Yall non-​hikers know! Bc I’m pretty sure hiking Sally over there things it’s amazing! It’s cool…

Such a gorgeous and peaceful place to be. Must come early! The forest gets an eerie feeling when it starts to get dark. My boyfriend and I didn’t have as much time as we’d like to hike so we didn’t reach the waterfall and we didn’t know where to find it. The creek was really relaxing and the view was amazing. Lots of redwoods and banana slugs! There was a nice little bench along the trail and we packed sandwiches for the trip. Left just in time before the sunsets. Next time we will definitely come earlier and find that waterfall!

It seems like whenever me and the bae head out for hikes we somehow find the wrong (but still somehow right?) entrance to these things.
Our visit to the Forest of Nisene was really no different and after some sketchy navigating from Siri, we found an entrance in what seemed like a few backyards.
There was a main path that sort of brought you down below into the forest where the temperature drops and everything becomes extremely cool and green.
We walked for maybe a half hour and found a cute little stream that intersected with more paths.
In an effort to not get too lost, we only walked a little further before turning around to head back to the car.
If you fancy yourself an adventurous bloke, I would highly recommend a morning visit to the Forest of Nisene for an easy walk/​jog.

There is a way to make this hike a loop instead of out and back. When you come back down from the waterfall just veer right and take the Loma Prieta grade down through the historic logging sites. It’s only slightly longer return trip.
Note: The upper parking lot is closed in winter so you’re definitely going to have a full 10 miles round trip. Be sure to bring hiking poles though. The river crossings involve scrambling on top of fallen trees amongst other obstacles. It’s slippery up there. Bringing a hiking pole will help you stabilize.
Maple Falls flows beautifully in winter after the rains. Try to go in February.
The full course with elevation and topo maps is here:

Nice and peaceful redwood forest. There are about 30 mile of trails.
First time I went to Maple falls from the entrance parking. Maple falls are very nice. There is a tree going to the falls and some people can get closte to the falls.
The soceond time I hiked all the west ridge trail to the camp, then went to epicenter site. Actually except for the sign, there is not much sign of the earthquake, but it was nice to visit there as a person from a country that has a lot of earthquakes.

Bike friendly, trails are well kept and the redwoods are what you might imagine-​amazing.
It’s a big park, so easy to feel as though you’ve got the whole place to yourself.

Nisene Marks must translate into, how can we get you lost.
O’ thy reasons why I won’t be coming back…(poem)
Your bathrooms rank from above, with little fly swatches hanging filled with death
I must hold my every breath.
Walk on their trails if you dare, only to find yourself somewhere?
Forest I love you, it’s not your fault
Please dear state put some money into this plot.
Haha, that’s all I can do for my poem. So! I love the forest, very beautiful. However, the park is like a maze. Not a single employee working the front gate, honor system. You pay a metal tube $ 10 to park your car. Only map is located right in front of one of the most foul bathrooms ever. Above are multiple fly strips with hundreds of dead flies attached to them. Bleh!
Now my biggest pet peeve. The trails!!! We took what was supposed to be an «EASY» trail, ha, it was like trying to pull a babies tooth. Sometimes there are markers, other times there are not. You are just literally lost in the forest of tons of trails that you have no clue where they’ll lead you? What saved us, where the locals, they’d tell us how to get somewhere, but we’d still get so far, then hit a fork and be lost again, because the local didn’t tell us about that Millionth fork out in the park.
We decided that we won’t be going back to this park, unless we go with someone who knows where they are going. I swear the locals should unite and start charging for tours. You guys would make good money and prevent people like ourselves the stress of getting lost. I would have rather enjoyed my hike than be stressed about how I was going to get back to our car.