Roaring Camp, Big Trees and Pacific Railroad Station — Local services in Scotts Valley

Once upon a time, there was a little tree. It stood in a great forest where all the trees looked alike, so no one ever noticed it. “I am a tree… but who am I, where do I come from, and where am I going?” it wondered. Yet the little tree found no peace in those thoughts.

It was night, the very first night of year 0, when the tree carefully unfolded its very first leaf. And as it looked up, it saw a star so large and radiant that the whole sky seemed alive with light. “Look, look at the star!” cried the tree to its neighbors. “Hush, we see it, hush hush,” they whispered. “But what does it matter to us? We stand where we stand.” “Yes,” sighed the little tree, “but my heart longs to follow the light.”

The years passed, and the tree grew. Birds perched on its branches, and again and again it told them the story of the star it had seen on that first night. “Was it truly that big?” they asked. “Bigger than all longing,” answered the tree, “and yet so far away that no one could ever reach it.”

One day a bird arrived, with red feathers on its breast, and it listened to the story. “Who are you?” asked the tree. “I am Robin,” said the bird. “I come from far away. I know your star. But the people—oh, they killed it.” “Killed a star?” gasped the tree. “Can such a thing be done?” “Yes,” nodded Robin. “One can forget the light, and when that happens, it is almost the same.”

Then the tree shed a tear, which fell upon Robin’s red breast and slid down onto the bark. And wherever it touched, the bark turned reddish, as if the tree had been given a glowing memory to carry within. “Now you know the story, and you are no longer an ordinary tree,” said Robin. “No,” whispered the tree. “Now I must grow, until I reach the star once more.”

And the tree grew, and grew, and grew. Year after year it stretched higher and higher, and the whole forest rose with it, until they became the red giants we now call the redwoods.

People say that if you walk through Redwood Forest and stand beneath the mighty trunks, you can hear them whisper in the wind: “We remember, we long, we keep on growing.”

And in a quiet grove, there still lives the nameless red giant of the forest, reaching all the way toward heaven.

And if you climb all the way to the top—oh, it is high, higher than any ladder could ever reach!—you may see to the very edge of heaven itself, where the star still shines.

At Roaring Camp stands the little great red tree with no known name. Listen closely—you may hear it whisper from its green crown, or through a hollow in its red bark. When you catch its name, write it here… and let the...

I went to Roaring Camp with my family for Easter. I drove down from Sacramento just for the train ride because my son loves trains and has never ridden a real one. Overall, the train ride was nice through the beautiful Redwood forest. The conductor was funny and informative. I wish the train ride was more accommodating to children/adults with disabilities, including neurodiverse individuals. The onboarding to the train was not organized, people were rushing to get on, which was overwhelming for my child, even for me. There were no special seating options for children with disabilities, no seat belt options, no options for strollers and no areas to stand and move around as many neurodiverse children and younger typically developing children need to do. I wish there was a separate cabin that was more accommodating so people with disabilities can enjoy the ride safely and comfortably too. Additionally, we have a Deaf child. There were no accommodations offered to receive the historical information in a written format. Deaf people are left in the dark on what the conductor was sharing. The Easter Egg hunt was not inclusive to people with disabilities. The hunts were divided by age rather than abilities levels, parents were not allowed in the areas to help. Sadly, my child was unable to collect any eggs. I will mention that there were some disability accommodations on the camp ground, including ramps, disabled parking spots, and accessible picnic areas. However, as far as the main attraction goes (train ride) there were no accommodations. I would recommend the company work with a disabilities advocate to possibly brainstorm ways to be more inclusive. There could be simple things done to make life a little easier for those who have it...

If you enjoy the outdoors and/or Old West-looking places, you will enjoy Roaring Camp. Oh, I forgot the trains. There are train rides through a wooded area and parallel to a stream. It's family friendly. On occasion they have Thomas the Train and Percy rides and photo opportunities, activities and games for kids and adults. The tickets forthe Thomas the Train ride were $25 per person in late Oct 2019. Parking was $5 - $10. They do have Handicap parking and Wheelchair accessible ramps. Be forewarned that it's quite a walk from the parking lot to the train station and main area. There's a covered bridge you must walk through, which I thought was cool. It's mostly dirt in the main area, but there's a grassy field on one side of the main area and a large pond on the other. I didn't give it a 5 star because there is only one place to get food and the lines are always long and it takes so long to get your order. The last time I was there, the power was out and they couldn't make coffee. They were working in the dark. There's also not enough places to sit once you get your food. If the weather is nice and calm, there are picnic tables by the grassy field near the food area. There were terrible gusts of wind the last time I went blowing lots of dirt and leaves all across the picnic tables by the field making them unusable to...