Mount Madonna Meadow Trail Loop is a 2.4 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Watsonville, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The Meadow Trail passes the pen holding the park's small herd of white fallow dear - a crowd-pleasing locale for youngsters. The park south of San Jose, California, has three popular campgrounds that might leave parents wondering where to work off some of their kids' energy. While some kids are up for much longer hikes, this 2.5-miler is a great choice if you're not sure how much the little tykes can handle. When you're done, wander over to the Henry Miller House site and explore the ruins of the summer house he built here during the 19th century. The white fallow deer were given to his heirs by William Randolph Hearst, the famous newspaper baron. With its abundance of shade, this is a great all-season hike.
Park hours: 8 a.m. to sunset. Parking: $6 inside park; free at Sprig Lake area off Hecker Pass Highway.
Contact: (408) 842-2341
Always dress in layers at Mount Madonna: it's right on the marine layer from the nearby Pacific Ocean and can be unseasonably cold in the morning and quite warm in the afternoon during the summer.
Take Highway 101 to Highway 152 West exit; go west for 10 miles to park entrance at Pole Line Road. Sprig Lake area is about 9 miles from Highway 101.
January 16, 2021January 1, 2021December 29, 2020Great trail, well shaded. But make sure you use the GPS feature as you can easily get lost as this was not a well travelled trail. Wear layers as it gets cold and be on the lookout for poison oak.
December 26, 2020November 29, 2020Small little wall, easy, guid for kids
November 25, 2020November 10, 2020The name for this trail is not on any of the signs. It seems to be made up of smaller trails so advise using the GPS feature to stay on track.
November 7, 2020October 22, 2020October 18, 2020the trails are not well labeled, we got completely lost!
October 12, 2020Easy hike with lots of trails. All shaded and not too warm even on a hot day like today.
October 3, 2020September 19, 2020August 29, 2020Trail was great, signage not that great, mostly shaded trail, beautiful trail.
August 10, 2020Great hike, perfect for a summer day, lots of shade.
August 8, 2020Trashy people camping yelled at the gay boys. Good trail but the people that come here are not so good.
August 8, 2020August 2, 2020June 7, 2020This is a beautiful, cool, quiet stroll through the Redwoods. Deep, canyons with Redwoods shooting up from extraordinarily steep slopes. Lots of ferns and some wildflowers .... lots of green! Well-maintained trail with hard pack Redwood soil; therefore, no rocks or loose gravel. Occasional redwood roots, but generally it is easy walking. Not that it matters, but there is no trail with this name, really! I had to walk up and down the road to find the entrance marked Rock Springs. Using the GPS to stay on this trail, I found: Blue Springs Trail, Redwood Trail, Bayview Trail, Upper Miller Trail and the aforementioned Rock Springs ..... it was still fun, but don’t expect to find this trail by its name!! Lots of side trails to extend hike.
May 25, 2020Nice and easy hike, lots of shades.
May 25, 2020Not stroller friendly but great hike great for a quick family outing
May 13, 2020Very beautiful!!!
March 1, 2020Trail was overall good. I like the forest trail. I don’t like the fact that we had to cross the main road, Pole Line because there are maniacs that drive through. Trail can be confusing because it had us walk the parking lot a couple times. Beware the last stretch is a steep uphill.
January 10, 2020A little muddy but great hike!
December 16, 2019Part of the trail a tree fell and covered it so you have to climb over. Beautiful hike but this trail way was super confusing at multiple times.
November 23, 2019Nice and shady
October 9, 2019Great place but hard to find the trail sometimes.
August 10, 2019its a nice walk...
August 14, 2018We went there with our dog. The trail was ok, it was difficult to see the road it self so we didn’t really know where to go.
