Santa Cruz Redwood Lodge & Santa Cruz Redwood Parks

Camping out in the Santa Cruz mountains can be a magical experience, it’s here where some city dweller first get a glimpse of the coastal giant trees. Towering above in several Redwood Parks, the hiking & camping are endless.

• BIG BASIN STATE PARK
• Big Trees & Roaring Camp Railroad, Felton Train
• BUTANO STATE PARK
• HENRY COWELL STATE PARK
• Portola Creek County Park
• PORTOLA STATE PARK

Tent cabins can be arranged at Big Basin Redwood Park, private vacation homes nearby, or a few small towns on Hwy 9 offer accommodations. On the coastal side is the small community of Pescadero near to Butano SP.

• BEN LOMOND
  
• BOULDER CREEK
• FELTON CA
• PESCADERO CA
  
• SARATOGA CA

Carrizo Gorge Goat Trestle – via Mortero Wash. Near the south end of Anza Borrego State Park is the infamous ‘goat trestle’, the is one of the largest wooden rail road trestles in the US. This hike can be reached by driving N on County Road S2 (from I-8) into Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Near park boundary keep your eyes peeled for Mortero Canyon Rd (signed) on the left side. This is a sandy dirt road, accessible by passenger car, that leads out to the train tracks & then past to the Mortero Big Boulder campsites. Park at rail road tracks near water tank & start hike from here.

San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad ­ SD&A/SD&AE

Ground was broken on September 7, 1907 by San Diego’s Mayor, John Forward and the construction of the 140 mile route was completed on November 15, 1919. The first through train was the called the “Golden Spike Limited”, named after the $286 golden spike, which John D Speckels drove into the ground near tunnel #8.

* The Goat Canyon Trestle was built in 1932 to re-route tracks due to a landslide.
* Passenger Cars Ran until 1951.
* The route through Carriso Gorge was closed temporarily by tropical Storm Kathleen in September of 1976.
* And was reopened 1981, and then closed again by recurring storms after a few years.
* Kyle Railways ran freight cars ran until mid 1984.

The Carriso Gorge section has fallen into disrepair with two trestles being burned and the collapse of two tunnels as the result of fires. The trestles have been rebuilt and one of the tunnels has been repaired but as of 2002 this scenic section of track is used mostly by hikers and mountain bikers. The sounds of the trains exist only in out imagination.

Other Facts: Derailed cars are from 1984 and were filled with bags of cement. Laborers were brought in to unload the cement but the cars were left. The Goat Canyon Trestle is 185″ tall and 600″ long. During its use it was the tallest wooden structure in daily use. This trestle was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1986. Carrizo means “reed grass” in Spanish. Total cost of construction was $18 million.

In 1979 the SD & AE west of Plaster City was sold to the Metropolitan Transit Development Board for $18.1 million. SD&A was said to stand for “Slow, Dirty and Aggravating” because of the high temperatures, smoke and open windowed trains cars.