Start in town.
Leave room to wander.
A walk among the redwoods. A stop along Central Avenue. Leave a little of the day unplanned.
Plan your day
Start with a town walk, a meal or an outing in the redwoods.
Find food and drink
Coffee, a quick lunch or a reason to stay for dinner.
Explore trails
Choose a walk, then check access with the park before you go.
Check conditions
Weather, roads and outages, with routes to official sources.
Open Mountain StatusA little planning goes a long way.
Keep the practical details close, then make the day your own.
Hours, fees, access and program availability can change. Check the linked provider before making plans.
Getting here: roads and transit
Plan the drive first.
Boulder Creek sits on Highway 9. The roads in are winding and mostly two lanes, so give yourself extra time and check conditions before you leave.
By car
From Santa Cruz, take Highway 9 north up the valley through Felton and Ben Lomond. From the Santa Clara Valley side, Highway 9 climbs over the summit from Saratoga. A common alternative from Highway 17 is Bear Creek Road, which drops into Boulder Creek from the east. All three are slow mountain roads with tight curves, cyclists, and wildlife, so use pullouts to let faster traffic by.
Check the roads
Winter storms and summer roadwork both close lanes up here. Check Caltrans QuickMap for real-time closures and chain controls, and the County Road Closure Dashboard for local roads. Our Mountain Status page pulls together the same sources. Cell service is patchy along parts of Highway 9, so it helps to have directions saved before you lose signal.
Riding the bus? Santa Cruz METRO usually connects Boulder Creek and the San Lorenzo Valley with Santa Cruz through Route 35 and the weekday express Route 35X. Route 35 covers nights and weekends. Holiday schedules and service changes can affect trips, so check METRO before you leave.
Parks, access and local recreation
Parks and trails nearby.
Big Basin access keeps changing as recovery from the 2020 CZU fire continues. Confirm hours, reservations, and open trails on each park's official page the day you go.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
California's oldest state park is open for limited day use as it recovers from the CZU fire, and much of it remains closed. Parking is limited; reservations are encouraged but not required. Day-use parking is $6 with a $2 reservation fee or $10 without a reservation. There is no fee to arrive by foot, bike, or bus. Potable water is not available, although bottled water is sold at the kiosk. Confirm current access before you drive up.
Big Basin access, State ParksCastle Rock State Park
Sandstone formations and ridge-top views along Skyline. The park is on Highway 35 about two and a half miles southeast of the Highway 9 junction. Parking is $10 per vehicle, and the park is open from 6 am to sunset. Weekdays are usually quieter for parking.
Castle Rock, State ParksFall Creek, Henry Cowell
A quiet day-use unit with about twenty miles of trails through redwoods and old lime kilns. The trailhead and free parking are on Felton Empire Road off Highway 9. There are no facilities, and dogs, bikes, and fires are not allowed.
Henry Cowell, State ParksCloser to town, the Boulder Creek Recreation and Park District keeps up Junction Park, with a small beach, San Lorenzo River access, a lawn, and picnic tables one block off the main street. Barbara Day Park sits just downstream, and Garrahan Park up Highway 9 has a walking track, fields, and barbecue areas. The river beach at Junction Park is where Boulder Creek kids learn to swim, mine included, and it runs on the same arrangement it always has: little kids on the sand, bigger kids on the rocks, cold water for everyone. It's swim at your own risk.
The fuller day: places and options
A perfect day in Boulder Creek.
Five stops, with room to make the day yours. This is the itinerary I give friends when they visit. Hours change up here, so check before you count on any single stop.
Start with breakfast
Jenna Sue's
Coffee and a casual downtown start.
The Tree House Cafe
The other local coffee stop, made for lingering.
Bella's Cafe
The town's sit-down breakfast.
Earn your lunch
Play a round
Nine holes under the redwoods at the Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club.
Swim
The rec district pool in season, or the river beach at Junction Park.
Hike Big Basin
Limited day-use as the park recovers; check access first.
Stop for lunch
Taqueria Los Gallos
Burritos and tacos, no ceremony.
El Rey Leon
Mexican food truck on the main drag.
Walk the shops
The main stretch rewards a slow lap: Air and Fire for crystals and gifts, SWAG's eclectic collective, Viscosity Glass for locally made glass art, Beck's Shoes, fitting families since 1919, and Scarborough's hardware and garden aisles with a little of everything. The directory has the full list with hours.
Stay for dinner
Tae's Edo Sushi Bar
Sushi and Japanese dinner plates.
Scopazzi's
Historic Italian dining room and lounge.
Red Pearl
Chinese, dine-in or takeout.
Full details, hours, and phone numbers for every spot are on Food and Drink.
What to know through the seasons
What the seasons ask of you.
Conditions shape a visit more than the calendar does. Check before you come.
Winter
Storms bring downed trees, flooding, and road closures on Highway 9 and the back roads. Check Mountain Status and Caltrans QuickMap before heading up, and turn around if a road looks unsafe.
Summer
The valley can be warm and the river draws crowds. Bring water, watch your footing on rocks, keep an eye on kids near moving water, and pack out everything you bring.
Fire season
This is a fire-prone forest. No fires or charcoal outside designated areas, and never during a Red Flag Warning. Check fire weather with the National Weather Service and CAL FIRE before you go.
Practical details and visiting like a neighbor
The practical stuff.
There's one gas station in town on Highway 9, so fill up before long drives or a trip out to Big Basin. Groceries and markets are on the food and drink page. Public restrooms are limited, so plan around them. Remember that cell service drops out along stretches of Highway 9.
Visit like a neighbor.
Most of what looks like open forest is someone's home, watershed, or working land. Leave no trace and pack out your trash. Don't park on blind curves or block driveways and pullouts. Keep noise down near houses, follow all fire restrictions, and give the road and the river the caution they're due.
Leave room for a local story.
Read about the people and places behind the town, or see what’s on the calendar.
Read Around Town See events