California trails · Skyline To The Sea Trail
Skyline To The Sea Trail
A 18.1-mile out-and-back in California, with 1,807 ft of climbing. Reaches Bulls Spring and other beach/spring/viewpoint/waterfall destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,600 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Bulls Spring (spring)
- Berry Creek Falls (waterfall)
- Waddell Creek Beach (beach)
- Berry Creek Falls viewpoint (viewpoint)
Heads up
Getting there
East Ridge Trail access. About 54 min drive (26 mi) from Santa Cruz. 37.20006, -122.19672 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:49 a.m., the sun rises at 7:15 a.m. and sets at 6:33 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:59 p.m. (PDT) — 11 h 18 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 36.3-mile round trip works out to roughly 15 h 14 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Skyline To The Sea Trail — 1.8 mi loop, 423 ft gain
- Skyline To The Sea Trail + Meteor Trail + Middle Ridge Rd — 4.4 mi loop, 1,151 ft gain
- Skyline - Sunset Connector Trail + Skyline To The Sea Trail + Timms Creek Trail — 6.1 mi loop, 1,266 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Aptos Creek Fire Rd — 21.1 mi
- Half Moon Bay Beach Route — 25.6 mi