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Wilder Ranch State Park has 34 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails winding through coastal terraces and valleys. Several restored buildings once belonging to the Wilder family are preserved. The park has tours and living history demonstrations to help visitors explore the history of early ranchers and farmers along the Central Coast. The site was originally the main rancho supplying Santa Cruz Mission. It later became a successful and innovative dairy ranch. Surrounding grounds include Victorian homes, gardens, and historic adobe.
Report a compliment or problem regarding park maintenance issues with the Park Observation Program.
Accessible Features
Exhibits/Programs: The historic ranch and outbuildings are located some distance away from the parking lot, but visitors may arrange to be dropped off in the historic area. Several barns and other historic structures are open and generally accessible via short ramped entries that may require some assistance. Some structures are viewed from the exterior only; exhibit panels provide general information. Parking and restroom in the main lot are accessible. An accessible portable toilet is available in the ranch area. Call the park for details.
The Visitor Center is generally accessible via a rear ramp; staff will open gate to get to the ramp.
The Victorian House has a lift and is generally accessible, but only open on an occasional basis.
Exhibits/Programs: The historic ranch and outbuildings are located some distance away from the parking lot, but visitors may arrange to be dropped off in the historic area. Several barns and other historic structures are open and generally accessible via short ramped entries that may require some assistance. Some structures are viewed from the exterior only; exhibit panels provide general information. Parking and restroom in the main lot are accessible. An accessible portable toilet is available in the ranch area. Call the park for details.
The Visitor Center is generally accessible via a rear ramp; staff will open gate to get to the ramp.
The Victorian House has a lift and is generally accessible, but only open on an occasional basis.
Getting There
The park is north of Santa Cruz, immediately west of Highway One, approximately 1.8 miles past the Western Drive stoplight.
The Day Use Annual Pass is accepted at this park.
The park is north of Santa Cruz, immediately west of Highway One, approximately 1.8 miles past the Western Drive stoplight.
The Day Use Annual Pass is accepted at this park.
Seasons/Climate/Recommended Clothing
This region’s climate has a mild average of 50 – 70 degrees. Coastal weather is unpredictable, so wearing layered clothing is advised.
This region’s climate has a mild average of 50 – 70 degrees. Coastal weather is unpredictable, so wearing layered clothing is advised.
Operating Hours & Contact
The park is open from 8am to sunset.
Telephone: 831-423-9703
The park is open from 8am to sunset.
Telephone: 831-423-9703
Programs & Activities
The Cultural Preserve area - a rodeo arena, ranch buildings, and three restored workshops run by water power - has early farm implements and tools. Docents at Wilder Ranch often dress in period clothing for interpretive tours and living history demonstrations. Call (831) 426-0505 for tours.
Hiking: Trails beginning in the lower park at the Cultural Preserve wind along the coastal bluffs near the beaches, tide pools and sea caves, up into the hills and terraces of the park to 1,800 feet on Ben Lomond Mountain.
Bicycling: A 35-mile network of multi-use trails crosses the park.
Horseback Riding & Camping: Equestrians are allowed on all park trails except those on the ocean side of Highway One. Six horse camping sites are available - first-come, first-served. Call the park for access to the equestrian staging and camping area near Dimeo Lane.
The Cultural Preserve area - a rodeo arena, ranch buildings, and three restored workshops run by water power - has early farm implements and tools. Docents at Wilder Ranch often dress in period clothing for interpretive tours and living history demonstrations. Call (831) 426-0505 for tours.
Hiking: Trails beginning in the lower park at the Cultural Preserve wind along the coastal bluffs near the beaches, tide pools and sea caves, up into the hills and terraces of the park to 1,800 feet on Ben Lomond Mountain.
Bicycling: A 35-mile network of multi-use trails crosses the park.
Horseback Riding & Camping: Equestrians are allowed on all park trails except those on the ocean side of Highway One. Six horse camping sites are available - first-come, first-served. Call the park for access to the equestrian staging and camping area near Dimeo Lane.
Natural Resources
Rainwater carves steep canyons through the marine terraces. Douglas-firs and coast redwoods dominate the drainages while coastal prairie covers much of the flatter terrain. Manzanitas, knobcone pines and chaparral pea grow in drier, sandier inland soils. Grasslands and oak woodlands are home to deer, bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions.
Snowy plovers make their nests on Wilder Beach Natural Preserve, which is closed to public exploration. Harbor seals and sea otters gather where Wilder’s watersheds join the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Offshore, dolphins and migrating whales may often be spotted.
Rainwater carves steep canyons through the marine terraces. Douglas-firs and coast redwoods dominate the drainages while coastal prairie covers much of the flatter terrain. Manzanitas, knobcone pines and chaparral pea grow in drier, sandier inland soils. Grasslands and oak woodlands are home to deer, bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions.
Snowy plovers make their nests on Wilder Beach Natural Preserve, which is closed to public exploration. Harbor seals and sea otters gather where Wilder’s watersheds join the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Offshore, dolphins and migrating whales may often be spotted.
Wilder Ranch Restoration Plan
Wilder Ranch State Park includes coastal habitat and recreational area with some in agriculture, some cattle grazing and a culture preserve. Approximately 110 acres were identified to be restored to historic habitat conditions and native vegetation. The area had great potential as a model for the restoration of coastal wetlands. It included Wilder Beach, saltmarsh, grassland, and riparian habitats, as well as three agricultural fields. From 1992 to 1994, the Benthic Lab group researched historical land use, and past and present physical and biological conditions of the Wilder Ranch restoration area. They proposed and designed restoration alternatives. The information was presented as a plan which the California Department of Parks and Recreation used to develop and implement the restoration of the park.
The restoration has been extremely successful. Since 1994, the agricultural fields have been returned to wetland and riparian habitats with their native tree, shrub and plant species. Wetland birds, and hawks nest in habitat that formerly was farmland. Red-legged frogs and other wetland animals have moved into the area. The riparian corridor along Wilder Creek has been widened to about 100 feet. Dogwood, alder, cottonwood and willows planted in 1994 have grown at a good rate, with some trees already over twenty feet tall. The adjacent upland restoration also has been successful. With continued monitoring to eradicate pest plant species such as hemlock and thistle, Wilder Ranch will become one of the showcase coastal wetland restoration sites.
Wilder Ranch State Park includes coastal habitat and recreational area with some in agriculture, some cattle grazing and a culture preserve. Approximately 110 acres were identified to be restored to historic habitat conditions and native vegetation. The area had great potential as a model for the restoration of coastal wetlands. It included Wilder Beach, saltmarsh, grassland, and riparian habitats, as well as three agricultural fields. From 1992 to 1994, the Benthic Lab group researched historical land use, and past and present physical and biological conditions of the Wilder Ranch restoration area. They proposed and designed restoration alternatives. The information was presented as a plan which the California Department of Parks and Recreation used to develop and implement the restoration of the park.
The restoration has been extremely successful. Since 1994, the agricultural fields have been returned to wetland and riparian habitats with their native tree, shrub and plant species. Wetland birds, and hawks nest in habitat that formerly was farmland. Red-legged frogs and other wetland animals have moved into the area. The riparian corridor along Wilder Creek has been widened to about 100 feet. Dogwood, alder, cottonwood and willows planted in 1994 have grown at a good rate, with some trees already over twenty feet tall. The adjacent upland restoration also has been successful. With continued monitoring to eradicate pest plant species such as hemlock and thistle, Wilder Ranch will become one of the showcase coastal wetland restoration sites.
History
Native People
Ohlone Indians made this watershed their homeland for centuries. They built conical homes from bent willow poles, and traded local stones, shells and bone tools with inland tribes. The Ohlone way of life changed radically after the 1776 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá. More Spanish explorers and Franciscan padres followed after Mission Santa Cruz was dedicated in 1791. The mission’s sphere of influence extended north to Año Nuevo Point and south to the Pajaro river valley near Watsonville. The Spanish grazed mission cattle on tribal grasslands and freely used the Ohlone food sources. Eventually, European diseases and the loss of their lands led to a dwindling Ohlone population. Today, Ohlone descendants practice their surviving cultural traditions.
Rancho del Refugio
From 1791 to 1835, all of the land west of Mission Santa Cruz was called Rancho Arroyo del Matadero (“ranch of the streambed slaughtering ground”), where mission cattle were butchered. In the 1830s, the land was left to the three daughters of Joaquin Castro and became known as Rancho del Refugio. Maria Candida Castro and her husband José Antonio Bolcoff became Rancho Refugio’s first titled owners of record. Bolcoff was a Russian sailor who had jumped ship to become a naturalized Mexican citizen; later he was arrested for smuggling. He built two adobes and one of the area’s first sawmills on the rancho. Bolcoff’s butter and cheese were well known in the Monterey area.
The rancho lands were split before a large portion was acquired by Moses Meder in 1854. In the 1850s, Meder constructed a new home, now the front portion of the old farmhouse. He expanded dairy and farming activities, building a creamery, dairy barn and other buildings. Meder’s butter sold for $1 a pound in San Francisco - expensive for the time. Partners Levi K. Baldwin and Deloss D. Wilder purchased 4,160 acres of the former rancho in 1871 and built a new creamery on the property in the mid-1870s. The partners amicably split the acreage between them in 1885; Wilder obtained the lower portion on Meder Creek.
D.D. Wilder’s Creamery
The Wilder family continued to work the land for five generations and nearly a century. In 1889, innovator D. D. Wilder harnessed water power to drive their equipment with a Pelton water wheel. A San Francisco newspaper credited Wilder with inventing “artificial sunrise” when he electrified his dairy. The dairy’s success enabled construction of a new Victorian farm house in 1897. The Wilder family ran the ranch until 1969, when property taxes exceeded farm income. In the 1970s, the land was proposed for a housing development, but Santa Cruz County citizens voted to protect the open space. In 1974 California State Parks acquired the property to preserve the land’s natural environment and cultural history.
Native People
Ohlone Indians made this watershed their homeland for centuries. They built conical homes from bent willow poles, and traded local stones, shells and bone tools with inland tribes. The Ohlone way of life changed radically after the 1776 expedition of Gaspar de Portolá. More Spanish explorers and Franciscan padres followed after Mission Santa Cruz was dedicated in 1791. The mission’s sphere of influence extended north to Año Nuevo Point and south to the Pajaro river valley near Watsonville. The Spanish grazed mission cattle on tribal grasslands and freely used the Ohlone food sources. Eventually, European diseases and the loss of their lands led to a dwindling Ohlone population. Today, Ohlone descendants practice their surviving cultural traditions.
Rancho del Refugio
From 1791 to 1835, all of the land west of Mission Santa Cruz was called Rancho Arroyo del Matadero (“ranch of the streambed slaughtering ground”), where mission cattle were butchered. In the 1830s, the land was left to the three daughters of Joaquin Castro and became known as Rancho del Refugio. Maria Candida Castro and her husband José Antonio Bolcoff became Rancho Refugio’s first titled owners of record. Bolcoff was a Russian sailor who had jumped ship to become a naturalized Mexican citizen; later he was arrested for smuggling. He built two adobes and one of the area’s first sawmills on the rancho. Bolcoff’s butter and cheese were well known in the Monterey area.
The rancho lands were split before a large portion was acquired by Moses Meder in 1854. In the 1850s, Meder constructed a new home, now the front portion of the old farmhouse. He expanded dairy and farming activities, building a creamery, dairy barn and other buildings. Meder’s butter sold for $1 a pound in San Francisco - expensive for the time. Partners Levi K. Baldwin and Deloss D. Wilder purchased 4,160 acres of the former rancho in 1871 and built a new creamery on the property in the mid-1870s. The partners amicably split the acreage between them in 1885; Wilder obtained the lower portion on Meder Creek.
D.D. Wilder’s Creamery
The Wilder family continued to work the land for five generations and nearly a century. In 1889, innovator D. D. Wilder harnessed water power to drive their equipment with a Pelton water wheel. A San Francisco newspaper credited Wilder with inventing “artificial sunrise” when he electrified his dairy. The dairy’s success enabled construction of a new Victorian farm house in 1897. The Wilder family ran the ranch until 1969, when property taxes exceeded farm income. In the 1970s, the land was proposed for a housing development, but Santa Cruz County citizens voted to protect the open space. In 1974 California State Parks acquired the property to preserve the land’s natural environment and cultural history.
Trails
Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Bluffs, a Beach Cave, and the Historic Ranch
Wilder Ranch SP: A 1/2 day visit to the lower park.
Wilder Ranch SP: A 1/2 day visit to the lower park.
Easy
3.5 mi/
5.6 km
5.6 km
Guides
Wilder Ranch SP: A 1/2 day visit to the lower park.
Community Trips
Hoped to do the Ohlone Bluff Trail along the ocean an got about half way there before turning back. The park map doe snot have mileage. I estimate form my track and google maps the bluff trail is about 10 miles which makes it nearly 20 miles overall. Way too much for the missus and pushing it for me.The coastline was beautiful this day. We parked along highway one and climbed the hillside and walked...
The Old Landing Cove trail is located in Wilder Ranch State Park, 4 miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1. In addition to splendid views of coves and beaches, you get to see lots of birds and seals.Besides the trail, there is a major highlight - the Wilder Ranch itself. There are barns with old carriages and vintage cars, cattle stables from the 1800s, and a charming Victorian house where the ranch owners...
My Google Maps Track (for KML data download):https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212201274303582052761.0004caa45792a5d9c84cb&msa=0I hiked along the fields, cliffs, and beach in wilder state park.The relatively small look I walked took my through some farm areas on a dirt path on the way out to the coast. Once out there, there is a small turn off that goes left down to the beach, you can also get back up to the trail from the south side of this...
