311 official trails lie within 25 miles of Santa Cruz — 661 miles in total, 188 rated easy and 19 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.
The biggest climb nearby gains 2,425 ft; the median trail gains 371 ft.
| Trail | Miles | Climb | Difficulty | From town |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aptos Creek Fire Rd | 12.0 | 2,425 ft | Expert | 7 mi |
| Skyline To The Sea Trail | 18.1 | 1,975 ft | Expert | 18 mi |
| Butano Ridge Loop | 7.4 | 1,626 ft | Expert | 22 mi |
| Limekiln Trail | 5.0 | 2,177 ft | Hard | 16 mi |
| Woods Trail | 6.4 | 1,693 ft | Hard | 17 mi |
| Lost Empire Trl | 5.4 | 1,629 ft | Hard | 10 mi |
| West Ridge Trail | 5.3 | 1,373 ft | Hard | 7 mi |
| Priest Rock Trail | 3.8 | 1,869 ft | Hard | 16 mi |
| Mine Hill Trail | 6.9 | 1,273 ft | Hard | 18 mi |
| Kennedy Trail | 3.9 | 1,831 ft | Hard | 16 mi |
| Slate Creek Trl | 4.1 | 1,214 ft | Hard | 21 mi |
| Ridge Trl | 3.4 | 1,274 ft | Hard | 12 mi |
| Aquinas Trail | 3.6 | 1,396 ft | Hard | 17 mi |
| New Almaden Trail | 5.9 | 466 ft | Hard | 18 mi |
| Aptos Creek Trl | 3.1 | 700 ft | Hard | 9 mi |
| Sunset Trail | 4.5 | 750 ft | Hard | 17 mi |
| Sanborn Trail | 2.5 | 1,484 ft | Moderate | 18 mi |
| Knibbs Knob Trail | 2.0 | 1,787 ft | Moderate | 14 mi |
| Hollow Tree Trail | 3.2 | 1,037 ft | Moderate | 19 mi |
| Westridge Trail | 3.9 | 711 ft | Hard | 19 mi |
| Stephen E. Abbors Trail | 3.4 | 1,030 ft | Moderate | 25 mi |
| Mccrary Ridge Trail | 2.6 | 1,324 ft | Moderate | 17 mi |
| Fall Creek Trl | 3.1 | 1,205 ft | Moderate | 6 mi |
| 6 mile trail loop | 5.0 | 826 ft | Moderate | 7 mi |
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