A very beautiful hike in Pogonip.. We went and looked at the koi pond and at the Rock Garden

Always amazing!JJC Electric Serving Santa Cruz County

One of my favorite places to walk and take pictures, in this city! I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a small adventure.

Mountain biking through the trail is always exciting and never feels familiar or like the other times before. The shades of green and diversity of plants and trees throughout the trail is beyond spectacular. You truly experience a redwood ecosystem in here. Too many opportunities to take pictures that you may be too busy to ride taking pics. Astounding beauty perfectly designed by God. Incredible I live in one of the most beautiful and rare places on the planet..no need to travel abroad seeking what I already have.

One of my favorite places to hike or run. There are so many hidden jems in the forest to find, keep your eyes peeled!

Amazing. Displays Santa Cruz and all its beauty.

I love how many times the terrain changes over the course of the hike :)

Im not sure if the hiking trail just fell into disrepair or if the other people rating it dont hike often, but we got about halfway in and decided to turn around because there was so much trash everywhere! A lot of homeless encampments and overgrown poison oak. Not really a great hiking spot in my opinion.

What a great 7-mile hike! The Emma McCrary trail was easy to moderate. The trail is marked very well. There are no restrooms. The trailhead is located at the end of Golf Club Rd. There are several dirt parking spots at the end, but on a weekend, I would park on the paved road. To get to the Emma Trail, make sure you go to the right of the gate and not through the road gate - look for trail signs. There were a couple of homeless camps the first mile of the trail.

We definitely saw a fox. Maybe it was a coyote... maybe a wolf. It had meat and fur. Gorgeous views. No crowds.

Beautiful scenery, great views, nice trail system

People living in tents everywhere... Saw lots of trash in the forest areas. Too bad, it would have been nice otherwise.

If you travel to, visit, or even li e in Santa Cruz, CA dont miss the spectacular and inspiring views of one of the gems of Santa Cuz...Pogonip. This morning, needing some beauty, inspiration and a reinstallation of gratitude in and for my life I visited one of my favorite Santa Cruz gems.I wish I could let you hear, see and experience just how beautiful Pogonip really is, but youll have to do that for yourselves. The view from the overlook on the side of the northeastern road around UCSC is amazing. For me, its really food for my soul. I hope youll visit it and just sit for a while with it, or better yet, hike the many Pogonip trails. You will be glad you did.

Such a beautiful place for out door activities

Its home for now and I love it for my connection to nature and the view

This hike was very sketchy because of the aggressive homeless population that lives there. We felt extremely unsafe the whole time. Instead of enjoying the beauty of where we were we kept having to keep a watchful eye of our surroundings. I do not recommend anyone go here. If you must give it a shot do not go on any unpaved trails, stay away from anything labeled homeless garden, and do not go alone.

Its in my neighborhood and so echilir as ting for the best place to feel room to breathe and dream.Great fields, paths, plants, trees, and love

This place is a wonderful treasure near the heart of Santa Cruz, with awesome bike/hiking trails, wildlife and several types of ecosystems and microclimates. But unfortunately the homeless problem in our city has quite literally polluted this local wilderness preserve. If you know the trail system well it can provide a great place for an afternoon bike ride or morning jog, however exploration of the vast network of auxiliary trails is not recommended due to the large number of deserted and, also, inhabited homeless encampments. It is unlikely accidentally coming into proximity with these unsanctioned dwellings would place one in immediate danger but, aside from a possibly uncomfortable encounter, children and pets may be at risk of coming into contact with broken glass, toxic refuse, or discarded syringes. I understand this situation is a symptom of a bigger-picture systemic problem. I am not directing criticism or blame at homeless individuals with no other housing options; moreover my commentary is about the conditions of the Pogonip, not the circumstances concerning those conditions. It just seems a shame that the relatively pristine natural ambiance is besmirched by encampments which were never intended and should not be there.

Great trail. A little dirty off to the sides. A lot of bikers so it was a little difficult to hike with so many stops.

This is probably one of the best places close to town to get away.Pogonip has a long history. Once was a ranch then a country club, now its a city park.The trails are well maintained and east flow to follow. if you go in the early morning or evening you will surely see wildlife like Bobcats, Coyote, ground varments and even a nesting Bald Eagle.This park is totally free but you have to get creative with parking. Park on Hwy 9 and walk in or Uber from downtown.The park is the home to one of the best routes into the Santa Cruz mountains on a mountain bike. The Emma McCary Trail, its a multi-purpose trail but dont hike it, It gets heavy bike traffic.Again, parking is bad, ride your bike on the levee from ample parking and beer downtown. All year is great to ride except on heavy rainy days.

Beautiful spot!! Back in 1986 I got married (there use to be a clubhouse) in front of the building overlooking the whole Monterey Bay. It has a spectacular view and it turned out to be a lovely day.It was my choice, out of the extensive venues available in the Santa Cruz county area, because 4 years before (my wedding) I had attended 2 breathtaking weddings at this location and I vowed that if/when I was going to get married I wanted to have it right there overlooking that splendid view of the bay.

Great hiking trails and views of Santa Cruz and the Monterey bay.

Nice trail to hike and run lots of fun

Awesome trail, good for running and biking

Great place to hike!

We took our kids and dog expecting a nice hike. We had the opposite experience. There was trash along the walk, homeless encampments, trails that appear to fade away. We lost our trail somehow and thankfully we had gps access on our phone. There were tents way in the depths of the forest (where we got lost). A man yelled at us to turn around and find another trail. It was scary! We made it out of the forest thankfully! I would never recommend anyone going to this park. The trails were not even very scenic. Im not sure how this park got such high ratings.

Beautiful trail to run and hike. People are friendly but do watch out for bikers when running/hiking on their trails. Poganip is a gem and I always feel amazing after trail running through the beautiful landscape. Its full of twist and turns that challenge you especially when you go up hill. Theres creeks and luscious green trees... too damn beautiful!

Beautiful trail. Finding it can be difficult starting from campus but its worth the walk.

One of my most favorite places for a high and/or trail run.

Love it out here.

Beautiful Nature

Great hike!

Went here at 9am on a Thursday morning. First thing I noticed is the large amount of homeless that were by the enterance and also the homeless campsites on the outer edge of the trails and by the train tracks.I only went in about 20min and decided to turnaround as I didnt feel my car was safe. Hope santa Cruz has a better hiking trail around here.

The trail is varidd and clearly marked.The lime kilns were worth a stop on the trail

I wasnt there but whom ever stole my phone headed up there. Good job google, My phone was picked up in front of my house and it was tracked to this location. Which is in the redwoods, I live near the beach boi!

Mega redwood trees-makes the Marin forests look wimpy. Rincon Rd. is a really good time with great maintenance and security.

Dog friendly, great for runners and hikers.

Good medium hike.

Fun ride in the woods

Wonderful open space with plentiful trails and gorgeous scenery.

Dont go after it has rained... Getting to the clubhouse it was really muddy as it was along the way. Fields are nice in the spring. Plenty of blooming flowers.

Great local hiking and recreation resource!

Beautiful trails and views, quite busy though.

Too many homeless people living here

Ive never been here, but Google maps keeps asking me how my visit here was. So I claim Pogonip in the name of darkness!

Yeah, nice place.. if you like crack heads. Not to mention the human feces and hypodermic needles all along the trails. And when you return to your vehicle, if its still there, it gets broken into and the bicycle on the back is gone. Lovely, Welcome to Santa Cruz.

I went on a hike on one of the access trails off High St. The trails markers higher up were confusing.

The cops target everyone just driving on this street briefly even and are way over the top for what ended up being NOTHING in the end of it all.

Best place to get away from the all the funk of downtown and having to deal with people.

Great place to hike! You can hike to the house in LOST BOYS.

To many homeless people. Other than that very nice.

All I can say go

Great for hiking and mountain biking!

Fire hazard low growth no volunteers except homeless garden project interviews for fakes

Maybe visiting at the end of summer wasnt the right time but it was, like the rest of California during this trip to be fair, dry and scrubby.

Beautiful hiking trails in and amongst the Redwoods. One of the most gorgeous rain forests on the planet.

Redwoods and different trails to wonder on witch youll probley find different treasures others left behind

Pretty, quiet, and green.I walked the Emma McCrary trail from Golf Club Drive to the Ucon trail to UCSC. These trails are well worn, but narrow, creating a nice mix of civilized and natural. The climbs can be deceptively steep, offering some challenge without making it obvious.It was filled with many, many cyclists who, while quite courteous and pleasant, made for a bit of a stressful walk while taking my pup about. (There was nothing illegal about either the cycles or the dog, but the experience did make me wonder if hikers customarily avoid the trail because of the number of cyclists and narrowness of the trail.)These are just two of the many trails out there, so I imagine there are many ways to enjoy Pogonip.

Great views

Very nice area to walk or hike!

One of the jewels of Santa Cruz. Beautiful vistas, forest trails and meadows.

Great for mountain biking and experience rolling hills. Moderately technical trails. Go early on weekends as it tends to get crowded. Great for hiking too. You can make a long loop by riding over to Wilder Ranch.

Pretty beautiful during the dayBring protection at night

This place is my favorite hiking trail EVER! It isnt the longest or the most challenging, but for me, the peaceful serenity of the park is unrivaled. There are so many places where you can just stand/sit and never be disturbed by other hikers or the sound of civilization. I no longer live in Santa Cruz, but when I do come to visit, I always make it a point to come here.

Very pretty. Love the redwoods

Beautiful park with redwoods and oak trees. Hikers and mountain bike riders are courteous. I trail run there once a year during the summer and love getting lost in this parks beauty. Be on the look-out for banana slugs and elusive skunks.

Home away from home

Not exactly Shangri La, but i got what i came for.

Wonderful Natural Habitat

Great trails to run and bike. I personally love to take my dogs here for runs. Be sure to have them treated with flea and tick poison before you do.Limited parking near the entrance, but more available at the bottom of global club drive on the left across from the metro center.

Lovely walking road over small stream, with a path off fire road up to Lime Kiln, spring box and magical Cairns. Coyote territory so keep small kids and pets close.

Pogonip is one of the best parks in the area. You could spend the whole day here and not explore all the trails. Dont go off trail though as theres a lot of poison oak, ticks, and other wildlife. This place is dog friendly, which is nice.

Gorgous and popular for bicyclists hikers and homeless who are able to call.it home

A truly lovely place to hike and see the state of nature. Plentiful bird life, a huge meadow, and of course, banana slugs. Make sure to check out the historic lime kilns!

An AMAZING place to explore. Definitely worth it. I found the creek and lookout trails to be especially beautiful, but Ive yet to explore even the majority of the park. Some parts are dry, desertish meadow with sparse trees and beard moss like the stuff you see here. Other parts have gargantuan redwood trees growing on the remains of older, even bigger burnt-out stumps. And theres this beautiful creek thats been digging the soil out from underneath the trees growing nearby, so that the sabotaged root structures cause them to fall and make natural bridges over the running water. . . its an exceptional place to be.About the name: according to the park pamphlet, the word pogonip means icy fog in a native American language. It didnt mention which language. When I looked it up, though, I found that thats actually not true! Its a word invented by English settlers thats based off of the Shoshone word payinappih, which means cloud.Anyways, the park is AMAZING! Ive heard that theres a beautiful place called the Garden of Eden hidden deep within the parks 640 acres. Im gonna take my mountain bike out and try to find it next time.

HIGH RATES of Ehrlichiosis, tick borne disease, in the ticks in the Pogonip. There are 2 kinds, HME and HGE, Human Monocytic and Human Granulytic Ehrlichiosis. Named after Paul Ehrlich. Can kill you. It was first identified in APTOS in ALL of California, but there are higher levels in the Pogonip area than in Aptos. It can take weeks after the tick bite to build up in your system and make you sick, so you may not connect it. ALso Babesiosis, Borreliiosis (Lyme disease) and Bartonella in local ticks. Remove by pulling straight out with tweezers, no twisting, no turning, no burning the tick.

Profoundly saddened to see the City of Santa Cruz encouraging the destruction of our natural heritage, Golf Course Dr. IS A SPRAWL AND A CITY ENCOURAGED GENTRIFICATION as if Global Warming was not accuring, as if our natural heritage and wonderful laid back compassionate people were not the reason why we love Santa Cruz.

This was a soon to be homeless housing location, smell of urine, feces, could not believe this was rated so highly. Lots of mountain bikers too

River all along your hike

Great trail with plenty of views

Find the spiral walk, the petrified tree and the lost boys home/original gold course clubhouse here. This place is an awesome not well known hiking space in town that has some of the most unusual and I iqur sights you can find locally.

A beautiful spot to take the family (and dog) for a hike. You can make it a short or a long one

Awesome place.

Has some nice MTB trails. Wouldnt say its for beginners though. Hiking trails are nice. Everyone is generally pretty courteous.

A lot of homelessness and trash left.

Amy the best manager in tge world, food was good too

A mediocre park in Santa Cruz, CA. Although the hiking trails are under trees cover, the last time I hiked here I found this park to be less than interesting or exciting. Probably a good park to visit at least once.

My only complaint was the lack of quiet at the Koy pond; people were loud and obnoxious there. Fresh oregano grows all over which is cool because it doubles as bug spray!

I think Pogonip means cool trail in some other language.

Easy to get to, this park can give you an excellent outdoor experience.

This is a nice getaway from campus or a very mellow hike into one of the surrounding forests that encompasses the UCSC campus. Something to see if youre ever in the area visiting.

Beautiful.

Really good MTB trails in the nature. Can get there with bikes by taking the bus.

Beautiful views, the trails are endless. One of my favorite places to hike in SC. + they have a ton of good mountain biking trails.

Excellent place to bike. Nice single tracks.

Nice park for an afternoon walk.

Strange things can happen therr.

I love riding here. I give free bike tuning at the top of the hill(triple water tanks) last Sunday of every month!!

I havent been up there yet, but Ive heard amazing things about the Park

Nice park close to the Santa Cruz. Lack of parking can be a problem