Garden of Eden - Henry Cowell Redwood State Park — Attraction in Scotts Valley

Overall a very nice spot to spend a warm day. The trail down to the beach area is not too steep and can be done somewhat well by children. There is a small "waterfall" which flows over some rocks, and a deeper "pool" area which I've seen people jump into (however, this is not allowed). The beach has a stretch of sand with rocky areas off to either side - watch for twisted ankles and potentially snakes. How crowded it is probably depends on the day - today, July 3rd, was very crowded by about 3pm, so leave early. There is some amount of litter, more so at the top of the path down to the river.

No alcohol, no dogs, no diving. Don't take anything too heavy as it may be a pain to carry, especially back up the path - towels, backpack with snacks and water, sunscreen. Some of the beach is shaded, but much of it isn't especially later in the day. TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU. Nobody wants to see your KFC bags.

Do be advised that there are not any restrooms at the beach or on the way to it. Take a leak in the woods, or away from anyone else.

CRUCIAL INFORMATION: much of the walk to the Garden of Eden is done along railroad tracks - in some spots, you cannot walk alongside the tracks, and instead must walk ON them. These tracks ARE in use, by Roaring Camp's Santa Cruz train. Always check their website for the Santa Cruz train's schedule before walking on the tracks. Sometimes you may need to wait for a train to cross the trestle bridge at San Lorenzo River before walking on the tracks. It takes 15 minutes to reach the trestle bridge after departing from Roaring Camp, and 45 minutes to reach the bridge after departing from Santa Cruz.

Be advised that you should check the train schedule before departing, as there is little to no cell service in this area. Always keep a watch or phone on hand or on wrist so you can check the time.

Directions from Henry Cowell parking lot: walk Pipeline Road (paved) down to the trestle bridge over the San Lorenzo River. DO NOT walk over the trestle bridge - there should be a footbridge which goes over the river instead. (The trestle bridge is private property and posted no trespassing, but many walk it anyway. This may be dangerous if a train is coming, and there are gaps in between the wooden planks which go down to the river below.) After crossing the footbridge, walk straight until you reach the signs prohibiting alcohol/dogs/bikes. On your right facing the sign is a trail which has a dip in it. From there is a narrow trail leading up to the train tracks - if a train is scheduled to come back within thirty minutes, leave this part of the trail and do something else for a while, or watch the train from a safe distance. From there, take a right away from the trestle. The path down to Eden's Garden is just to the left of two sign posts - one has two brown signs, the other has two white.

Eden's Garden the railroad tracks, and the rest of the pathways to/from it are photogenic when not busy. Again, keep it photogenic and take your trash with you.

Good luck,...

The name Garden of Eden is a misnomer, and you are in for a surprise. There is no garden but a beautiful forest with a calm river flowing through it.

We had a bit of confusion with the entrance as we drioe through redwoods. There is no gate or any sign board, but there is an area where you can park the car. We assumed that is the entrance and thought of checking it out. There is no other sign even when you enter and no info about the trail. We kept on walking with an assumption that it will lead to the river. And it did.! We go through the hill in a winding downhill trail to reach near the river. The trail continues parallel to the river and there are a few spots that you can access the river.

We went around 4-5 pm, and it gets pretty dark due to the tree cover. There were some families spending time with the kids, and enjoying bathing in the river.

We spent only less than an hour, and am sure there was more to hike and see. Since there was no other information about the trail, am not sure how long it is. We returned after we spent some time in the river. The uphill hike was a lot more tiring, but...

beautiful place but the amount of people ruined our first experience here. it was mostly college kids. a large group of them decided to sit directly next to us and our dog who is not friendly. it was pretty inconsiderate how they had the entire space and decided to be right next to us. my dog tried to attack some of the people who were running within an arms length of us.

you would think that my dogs initial barks at them were a sign to stay away but we had around 5 encounters with the same group before we packed up and left.

i understand it may not be convenient for someone to stay away because of my dog. but it would have just been respectful and appreciated. it was my dads birthday and he was so happy to be there and we planned on staying all day.

please be more mindful of peoples space.

(pictures are before it got packed) there had to have been around 100 people there...