Scotts Valley, Felton & the San Lorenzo Valley
Redwood Forests, Mountain Communities & Steam Trains · Santa Cruz County
The San Lorenzo Valley — stretching from Scotts Valley through Felton, Ben Lomond, and Boulder Creek — is a world of towering redwoods, winding creeks, and fiercely independent mountain communities. This is where California's logging industry boomed, where ancient forests were saved, and where the steam train still rides.
Timeline
Logging the Giants
Gold Rush demand for lumber brings loggers to the San Lorenzo Valley's magnificent old-growth redwoods. Dozens of mills operate along the San Lorenzo River and its tributaries. Towns like Felton, Ben Lomond, and Boulder Creek grow as mill towns. The devastation is enormous — but a few far-sighted citizens begin advocating to save what remains.[1]
Big Basin — California's First State Park
Big Basin Redwoods State Park is established in 1902, becoming California's first state park and preserving 18,000 acres of old-growth redwood forest. The effort to save Big Basin, led by photographer Andrew Hill and the Sempervirens Club, launches the state park movement in California. The CCC-era lodges and campgrounds, damaged in the 2020 CZU fire, are being rebuilt.[1],[2]
Roaring Camp & the Steam Trains
In 1963, F. Norman Clark opens Roaring Camp Railroads, reviving the narrow-gauge railroad through the redwoods as a heritage attraction. Today it is one of the last operating steam railroads in America. Visitors ride antique steam trains through old-growth groves from Felton to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, experiencing the landscape much as 19th-century travelers did.[3]
Visit these historical sites
Real places in our directory connected to Scotts Valley, Felton & the San Lorenzo Valley.
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Sources
Citations behind the dates, names, and numbers on this page.
- 1California State Parks — Big Basin Redwoods State Park Cultural History
History of the Sempervirens Club, Andrew Hill, Big Basin's 1902 establishment, and redwood conservation.
- 2California State Parks — Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Official park history, acreage, and recovery context after the CZU fire.
- 3Roaring Camp Railroads — History
Company history of F. Norman Clark's 1963 founding and the heritage railroad.