Follow the Skyline Trail along the wooded ridgeline of two vast parks: Sanborn County Park and Castle Rock State Park. On the route of old Summit Road, you wind along the protected east side of the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains through forests of Douglas-fir, oak, and madrone; you pass immense sandstone outcrops and vestiges of early homesteaders’ orchards and dwellings. This fairly level trip, entirely in shade, is ideal for warm days.

(This trail description is excerpted from the 2019 Guidebook. For details on all trails, trailheads, and more, buy the book from Wilderness Press. For more resources to plan your trip, visit our Trail Tools page.)