Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park — Attraction in Scotts Valley

I came here yesterday with a group of friends and a service dog. Our group has never been to Santa Cruz and we were very excited to see the redwoods and explore the park. Unfortunately we were greeted by two elderly park rangers/ “greeters” at the entrance they pointed to my friends service dog and said “no dogs allowed on the trails” and said that they were only allowed on the paved road trail and that “paws had to stay on the pavement” we explained to the man that the dog was a service animal, told him what the dog was trained to do and offered to provide documentation. The older man mocked us and said “yeah right, that’s a service dog if you want it to be I guess” with a dirty look on his face and a very condescending and rude tone. (My friends service dog is a small dog not the usual lab or golden retriever) I said thank you and we proceeded to walk only to be stopped by the old woman ranger who once again said no dogs allowed. We tried to explain to her as well and she was also very rude and completely dismissive. My friend was so embarrassed she offered to have us continue on without her as they would not allow her into the trails we all wanted to go on. Our entire group was very upset by this but did not want to cause a scene or waste anymore of the short time we had to explore the area so we decided to try the dog friendly trail which ended up being beautiful but was pretty restrictive. My friend and group was very upset about this interaction, we have never experienced this kind of discrimination and utter disrespect anywhere, most places we go to are always very accommodating and welcoming. What these two did was awful and illegal I believe. I truly hope that their superiors see this review and train them properly so that others do not have to suffer this kind of discrimination. Truly despicable behavior from these two seemingly very bitter people. I don’t think this is the right job for them at all, hopefully they will replace them with some more people...

I've been here a couple times and had only done the loop closest to the parking lot, I had no idea how big this park really is. All this time I thought it was just that lil loop, wow was I surprised to find out that loop is a really small section of an amazingly big park. I'm planning on another visit this time with my Segway so I can see the whole park n not just what my lil legs can handle. This time I also hiked up to the lookout to see the ocean and the Santa Cruz board walk from the top of the hill. I also really like that the trains were still running at roaring camp which is also right off the parking lot. So here's a pro tip, come real early if you wanna parking spot, I got there at 830am and had my pick, by 9am it was completely packed. Also saw some folks park out on the 9 on the south east side of the road and they hiked in. Definitely one of my favorite redwood parks in California. Definitely bring money for the trains, there's two and I recommend both. The 4x4 train is steam and super cool the other takes you to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. I figure why spend $28 for 2 hours for parking and 45 minutes waiting for a spot in and leaving when you can park at Henry Cowell for $10 pay 45 for the train get dropped off and take a later return avoiding both the traffic and the really expensive parking. Did I mention the rain goes through the...

This was a great park to visit to see some of the coastal redwoods, and has short hikes good for family. Recommend doing the loop trial, and observation deck trail, both are easy for a family (our kids were ages 8-16). From Santa Cruz you can take Hwy 9 up to N Big Tree Parks Rd, turn right here and it will take you straight to the parking lot for the loop trail. I recommend paying the $10 day use fee, since it will work for your observation trial on the way back. Though you can park on the road outside and walk in. After you finish the loop trail turn right and continue up HWY 9, then make a right turn on Graham Hill Rd this will take you to the campsite entrance, if you paid for the pass you can park in the campgrounds parking since road parking is much more limited in this area. the observation deck trail is really between 47 and 49, though it is more directly behind 47. It is really only 0.4 miles up to the observation deck from here, and once there you have great views around, even has an observation viewer, that allows you a better view of the...