Aptos Creek and West Ridge Trail Loop to Sand Point Overlook is a 15.2 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Aptos, California that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
birding
hiking
mountain biking
nature trips
trail running
walking
forest
river
views
wild flowers
wildlife
A beautiful and longer hike that goes to the Sand Point overlook.
Lots of different trails to explore here for a fairly easy hike. Not a lot of traffic, lush greenery and allows dogs. If you cross the bridge and follow the trail back you can find a rope to swing on which is super fun!
Beautiful hike! Lots of trees and shade. I gave it a four starts because some trails were blocked by knocked off trees and parking area is really small. Other than that, I strongly recommend.
Hiked from the parking area before the iron bridge. Started with an unmarked trail to the right (south) of the parking area for a warm-up loop hike before continuing up the Aptos Creek Fire Rd to Sand Point Overlook, before returning along the West Ridge Trail with minor reroute for added distance. total hike was 16 miles with 2,665 Ft of elevation gain. The Forest of Nisene Marks is a beautiful redwoods forest, with only a few bike riders and even less hikers, so you can here yourself think, the birds' singing, and the ocean breeze running through the forest canopy. Very pleasurable hike but I still have more trails to explore in this forest.
A dog walk from the end of the Aptos Road parking area. Sadly the app does not do a good job of identifying the connecting trails that are NOT dog friendly. The Aptos Road is very nice but busy. Once again we came to signs at all other trials that dogs were not permitted. We went rogue again and uses the West Ridge Trail which was awesome. No complaints from the few hikers we saw and the few bikers were nothing but gracious. I'm sure we were risking a significant fine but it was worth it! West Ridge is highly recommended!