The crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains seems to get snow at least once a year, but it’s still a rare enough occurrence that I get excited about it. On Monday, I drove up to Skyline Blvd. and found picturesque winter scenes after 2-3 inches of snow fell at the higher elevations that morning. Here is a short video (3:12) of the snowy scenes:
I started at Russian Ridge Open Space and hiked up to Borel Hill and then did a loop of the ancient oaks trail, which was spectacular! I then continued to Long Ridge Open Space where a line of snow covered Douglas firs made a scene fit for a holiday greeting card. A bridge over Peters Creek was also nicely situated. Finally, I went to the highest section of Skyline Blvd. at Castle Rock State Park. I went up to 3,214 ft Castle Rock and then hiked over to Goat Rock for more great scenes. At the lowest point, the snow level in the Santa Cruz was at about 1,500 feet, but measurable accumulations were only found above 2,000 feet with progressively more snow at the highest elevations of Skyline Blvd. just over 3,000 feet.
More photos after the jump and at my Picasa Album!
More photos at my Picasa Album.
Leor Pantilat's Adventures
Thanks for filming this: Snow in the Santa Cruz Mtgs always inspires me to get out, hike.