STEP BY STEP

↑ Proceed from the parking lot to Old Cove Landing Trail and follow it towards the coast.

→ The trail slowly winds to the right and turns into Ohlone Bluff Trail. Follow this trail along the coast.

↑ Take the underpass to cross Highway 1 and proceed onto Baldwin Loop.

→ Stay right on Baldwin Loop.

→ Make a right onto Wilder Ridge Loop.

→ Make a hairpin right turn to take the underpass to cross Highway 1.

→ Pass through the historic ranch area, make a right onto Coast Road, and return to the parking lot.

MUSINGS

Wilder Ranch is a unique state park. It's five minutes away from the city of Santa Cruz, boasts a variety of landscapes and trail types, and is also home to a well-preserved historic site -- Wilder Ranch itself. From the parking lot, we made our way to the coast via Old Cove Landing Trail, which weaves along farmland, and continued onto Ohlone Bluff Trail.

Shortly after, we paid an obligatory visit to Fern Grotto, a surprisingly deep cave on a beach with ferns sprouting from every angle. We had read about this place before, but to experience it for ourselves was 100% worth the effort in trying to find it. You should see a sign by the trail, but it's not super obvious. Looking down at a small beach, try to spot a short and wide cavern, partially shrouded by plants, carved into a cliff wall behind the beach. You'll need to take a short hike down to the beach, which is flanked by cliffs jutting out into sea.

Though Ohlone Bluff Trail generally hugs the coast, there are sections that make their way inland and almost into local farmland. It's not intuitive, but don't be alarmed. Just keep following the trail and you'll find yourself by the water again in no time. The cool thing about this, however, is that there are tons of wildflowers along the edge of these farms in the spring. We continued to 4 Mile Beach (though you can also turn back here for a coast-only hike), where we then headed towards the hills on Baldwin Loop.

Baldwin Loop provided a total change of scenery, from rustic coastline to peaceful, grassy hillside. It's a steady, moderate climb from here on out (made easier by the healthy 5-mile warmup prior!) until you complete the first half of Wilder Ridge Loop. Warning: those of you who are spring wildflower enthusiasts (ahem, Instagrammers) will go crazy. The variety wasn't spectacular as we saw mainly ubiquitous sourgrass and mustard flowers, but they were still unexpected and pleasant enhancements to our overall enjoyment of the trail. Early on, we encountered a sea of mustard flowers so dense the bright, rich yellow was quite literally seared into our eyes for the next few minutes, so wear sunglasses! All this said, please don't trespass into the field, and try not to step on any of them.

The rest of the hike was rather bare and monotonous, save for a bench so perfectly located at the edge of the mountain on Wilder Ridge Loop. You might not see it from the main trail; turn right on an unmarked path at a triangular fork, labeled "Wilder Ridge Vista Point" on Google Maps. We were lucky it was empty and took a long lunch break there, after which we continued our descent back to the parking lot. Keep in mind that Baldwin Loop and Wilder Ridge Loop are popular mountain biking trails, and you'll likely encounter bikers every couple minutes. Though most of the trails are wide enough for two-way traffic, this detracted a little from our hiking experience. However, this only goes to show how popular this park is!