Top 10 Viewpoints

Top 10 Viewpoints in the Santa Cruz Mountains

05.17.2018

In the Bay Area we pride ourselves on seeking new points of view. But how about seeking out the best points of view?! Yep, our friends at Peninsula Open Space Trust have done it again, creating a complimentary downloadable guide to the very best vistas in the Peninsula and South Bay.

The Top 10 Vistas of the Santa Cruz Mountains gives you the 5 best viewpoints you can hike to and the 5 best viewpoints you can drive to … complete with directions, interactive trail maps, activities to do at each vista location, and insider tips. It even comes with a compass!

Do you know about Eagle Rock in Little Basin? How about Mindego Hill? Find out about these vistas and 8 others, then get going to viewtiful!

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    Dragon Quest

    The newly reopened, 4-mile out-and-back hike at Dragon Mountain in Milpitas mixes the physical with the spiritual for a serene hiking experience.

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  4. Grover Hot Springs

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  1. A woman stands at Dante's View in Death Valley, looking out to Telescope Peak and Manly Lake, Badwater Basin below.

    Sunset Hike at Dante's View

    It’s one of the world’s best places to watch a sunset. Dante’s View is a 5,476-foot vantage of the whole southern basin of Death Valley from the top of the Black Mountains. Right now there's a banner and bonus view of a rare lake formation that appears only after big rains.

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  2. Hot, Wet, and Wild!

    At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away.

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  3. It's a Waterfall Life

    Tahquitz Canyon’s crystalline stream and lush stands of desert lavender, honey mesquite, and leafy sycamores is home to an easy day hike with a big bonus: a 60-foot waterfall that runs with remarkable gusto after winter rains.

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  4. Oh Snow Nice

    Live in California long enough, and you’ll come to know the rite of passage called “going to the snow”–when we ditch our fair-weather cities and towns in search of winter weather. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks deliver a winter wonderland worth a visit if there’s been a good dose of snow.

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