The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States, protecting a

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. I ...

in the watershed of Aptos Creek and Soquel Creek within the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

. It is located outside

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and ...

and contains over of hiking trails and fire roads through of variable terrain.

History

The park was named after Nisene Marks, a passionate nature lover and the mother of a Salinas farming family that purchased the land from lumber companies (and others) in the hopes of finding oil. After drilling efforts failed to find any oil, Marks' children donated the original of land in her memory to the state of California (with the help of

the Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

) in 1963. The first people to live on the land of Nisene Marks were the Ohlone tribe. They relied on the land, harvesting and utilizing the natural resources along the edges of the forest. The California State Parks department, with additional help from the

Save the Redwoods League Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...

, expanded the park to . The park is on land that was

clear-cut Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fo ...

during a forty-year period of

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...

(1883–1923) by the Loma Prieta Lumber Company. Evidence of logging operations, mill sites and trestles is visible in the park. In recent years, an ancient grove of redwood trees was preserved and added to the park. The park offers rugged semi-wilderness, rising from sea level to steep coastal mountains of more than . The park is a popular spot for running, hiking and horseback riding. Mountain biking is restricted to the fire road as of 2004 because of deed restrictions regarding the state park. The

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

of the

Loma Prieta earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...

on October 17, 1989 was in this park. The quake's epicenter and Five Finger Falls are the two most popular attractions in the park.

Natural history

Four-fifths of the park is covered in dense redwood forest. Chaparral is found on a few of the hotter, steeper ridges. Douglas firs grow among redwoods in a number of areas. Other trees species include: alders, maples, and cottonwoods near creeks; tanoaks in the understory of redwoods; and Pacific madrone, California bay, and several oak species. The park is inhabited by a number of animals. This list includes

banana slugs Banana slugs are North American terrestrial slugs comprising the genus ''Ariolimax''. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Ariolimax Mörch, 1859. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p= ...

, which can be found in various forests in Santa Cruz, as well as California slender salamanders. Additionally, a multitude of plant varieties can be found in the park. Various mushrooms and native plants are commonly seen, including parrot mushrooms and Solomon's plume flowers.

Geology

The San Andreas, San Gregorio, and Zayante earthquake faults affect the geology of the state park. Slightly southeast of park boundaries runs the San Gregorio; the Zayante fault intersects with the Aptos Creek Canyon in the park, and the San Andreas fault runs parallel to the Northeastern border. The epicenter of the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989 was in this park. The quake's epicenter and Five Finger Falls are the two most popular attractions in the park. Various ancient sea stone sedimentary rocks can be found in creek beds in the park, as the park used to be a shallow inland sea. The soil of the park is sandy and loamy, and therefore vulnerable to landslides.

Recreation

The park is a popular spot for running, hiking, and horseback riding. Additionally, it is a common location for mountain biking, which can be done on several trails including the Aptos Rancho Trail, Split Stuff Trail, Terrace Trail, and Vienna Woods Trail. The park includes picnic tables where visitors can sit and enjoy the sights.

Regulations

* Natural and cultural features of the park may not be removed or disturbed. * Stay on marked trails to avoid erosion. * Biking is only permitted on the Aptos Creek fire road and the four single track trails below the steel bridge. * Omitting service animals, dogs are only allowed on the Aptos Creek fire road and the four single track trails below the steel bridge. Dogs must be on leash at all times. * Horses are only permitted on the Aptos Creek fire road and the four single track trails below the steel bridge. Horses are not allowed past the steel bridge. * There is currently no camping in the park. * Fires are prohibited in all areas of the park. * There is an $8 vehicle day use fee.

References

External links

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
state site
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks site {{DEFAULTSORT:Forest Of Nisene Marks State Park State parks of California Parks in Santa Cruz County, California Coast redwood groves Santa Cruz Mountains Aptos, California Parks in the San Francisco Bay Area Protected areas established in 1963 1963 establishments in California