💚Forest of Nisene Marks🌲Hike🥾Adventure 🌊 Beach 🏖️ Combo+ Social Dinner 🍽️

🌲 Event Description
🚨 READ THIS FIRST (IMPORTANT)
This event requires you to follow instructions.
❗ We DO NOT meet at the main park entrance or any parking lot in the park
❗ You will NOT find the group if you go there
✅ REQUIRED: To avoid confusion and people getting lost...
✅ Meet at Peet's coffee first
From there, we go together as a group to a specific trailhead location
📌 If you choose to skip reading and go on your own, you may miss the group and will not be able to join the hike or go solo!
Thank you for respecting the time and effort put into organizing this event🌷

Hello Adventure Team!🌿
We are heading to beautiful The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park for a fresh-air redwood adventure!
I went to scout the area already ✅

This time we’re doing it the stress-free way so everyone actually finds the group 😄
⏰Meet time: 12 noon and Carpool time: 12:30pm
✨ 12noon: Meet FIRST at Peet's Coffee
📍Address: 50 Rancho Del Mar, Aptos, CA 95003 (REQUIRED)
📍GPS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/PgzX5aCoatqZecCD9
✅ Restroom available 🚻
✅Strong phone signal 📶
✅Easy parking ☕
We will gather, say hello, and then:
🚗 Carpool , Solo or caravan together to the trailhead
🚗 Follow each other in (no one gets lost!)
👉 Important: If you go directly to the trailhead main entrance gate without meeting the group first, you will likely miss us and may not be able to join the group hike.

Plan A. 🌲 The Hike
We’ll explore the beautiful Forest of Nisene Marks 🌲
Level: Moderate+Good for Your Heart❤️ Health!

Distance: 🥾 ~5-6 miles
Time 2.5-3 hours
Elevation: 500ft+
Route: Out and Back
Most of the trails are shaded!
Parking: Free
Dog: No!

Bring Smiles for Miles! Water, Snacks, Hiking Poles
Wear Hiking shoes, Layers
🌿 Mostly shady, peaceful forest trails
💚 Perfect for relaxing, recharging, and connecting with nature
💦 Creek Crossing Info
We may cross a small creek along the way.
✅ Summer water level is usually low (no problem!)
👟 Please bring water shoes or shoes you don’t mind getting wet

Extra bonus for your wellness body and mind!
Optional:
👉Plan B: Beach walk 🏖️
after forest hike
📍Meet spot: In front of the Venus Spirits Cocktails-by the beach parking lot
📍GPS: https://goo.gl/maps/5VWD2Kpgg9cpmsoW6
📍Address: 131 Esplanade, Aptos, CA 95003
Plan B.🌊 Bonus Adventure (Optional but highly recommended!)
After the hike, we continue the fun:
🌊 Beach time + natural “free foot massage” in salty ocean water 😄
👣 Walk along the shore, dip your feet, or
🧘‍♀️ Just relax at beach🏖️ after forest hike
Optional:
Plan C. 🍽️ Social Dinner (Optional)
Let’s end the day with good food and good company:
🍣 Sushi + 🥢 Chinese food combo
🥂 Relax, chat, and connect with fellow hikers
💡 Friendly Reminder
Please read all event details and follow the meeting plan 😄
This helps everyone have a smooth, fun, and stress-free experience.
🌟 Vibe of the Day
Fun • Easygoing • Organized • No stress • Good people only 😄
• Gorgeous redwood forest🌲energy ✨

About The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Located near Santa Cruz, this park's dense second- and third-growth redwood forest rises from near sea level to steep coastal mountains, offering picnic spots near Aptos Creek and 30 miles of hiking and biking trails in rugged semi-wilderness.

Off the beaten path, The Forest of Nisene Marks is a refreshing retreat from the busy towns and beaches along Highway 1 near Santa Cruz. Its dense second- and third-growth redwood forest rises from near sea level to steep coastal mountains.

Most visitors come to picnic near Aptos Creek or to hike, jog, or bike on 30 miles of trails in rugged semi-wilderness, rising from sea level to steep coastal mountains of more than 2,600 feet.

The park’s land has a bittersweet beauty. Almost all of today’s redwood forest was clear-cut in a 40-year logging frenzy from 1883 to 1923. When the loggers left the Aptos Canyon, the forest began to heal itself; now, the scars grow fainter with each passing year. The Forest of Nisene Marks is a monument to forest regeneration and the future—it is a forest in a perpetual state of becoming.

The park's name honors Nisene Marks, the nature-loving mother of the Salinas farm family that bought the land in the 1950s. Her children donated approximately 9,700 acres to the state in 1963 with the provision that the land never be developed. Today, the park showcases a forest in recovery, with rugged canyons and remnants of its once-bustling railroad and logging industry. A grove of ancient old-growth redwood trees near the Pourroy picnic area was preserved under private ownership and added to the park in recent years.

So it becomes:
Forest hike + Beach walk combo adventure
Two different energies in one day — Redwoods + Ocean breeze = Perfect balance
️ After the Adventure – Social Dinner
Optional group dinner nearby for those who want to relax, eat, laugh, and connect.
Good food + good people + ocean air = happy life ✨
Important Notes
❗Layer up – forest can be cool
❗Bring water & snacks
❗Anyone who needs to leave early can manage your own time
❗Positive attitude required
❗This is not just a hike.
It’s green exercise, fresh oxygen, and good social energy!
Looking forward to seeing strong hikers and happy faces at the trailhead

*Encouraging carpooling if you know each other well for everyone's safety. Please contact each other in a private message not in the message board. Thank you! https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/v8it7y

Our meetup events have a very positive impact on people's lives, people meet, fall in love💘 meet new friends, HAPPY, better health, less stress, anxiety, depression, isolate being alone and got extra bonus for LOVE ​💞

💚 Support Our Group!
Thanks for joining our wellness club event, it does take time and money to make it happen. Thank you for being prepared and supportive 🌿
Our hikes, dinners, and events run thanks to member support. A small contribution is appreciated to help keep our wellness community active and fun! Thank you for helping us make every event special!

*Requested contribution suggested amount $10-$20 to keep the club going!
​Dr. Heidi will ask for the contribution during event check-in. Accepted in person. Your support helps cover the many behind-the-scenes efforts that make these events possible, including route scouting, Meetup platform fees, permits, communication with park staff and members, and planning hikes, dinners, and road trips...
This community exists because of the support and kindness of its members.

The organizer reserves the right to ask a participant to depart!
If they refuse to contribute or follow event guidelines. This ensures our community remains a positive and respectful space for everyone.
Thank you for helping keep our wellness community positive, respectful, and active. 🌿

After hike social dinner anyone who still has energy is welcome to join an optional social dinner in Santa Cruz. It’s a great chance to relax, refuel, and enjoy some good conversation after the hike. The restaurant offers both Chinese and Japanese food, so there should be something for everyone.

*DO NOT ATTEND if you're experiencing any cold or flu symptoms, have a compromised immune system.

We are an intermediate hike group. Please be ready to keep up hiking with us from 5 miles to 8 miles without any health issues.

*LIABILITY WAIVER: The event host/organizer is not for everyone's emergency or medical services. By signing up for the wellness hiking event, you hereby release its organizers, hosts, and participants from any and all liability, claims, demands or causes of action that you now have, or may have in the future, for illness, injuries, damages, and/or economic loss of any kind or nature, arising in whole or in part out of the activities, advice, or information contained herein. You agree to full responsibility for your own health issues.

*Hike at YOUR OWN RISK. Open trails aren't necessarily free of hazards--by entering the wilderness, you assume responsibility for your safety and must use good judgment.

*Participation in this event is strictly voluntary! The event host/organizer assumes no responsibility for any injury, damage, or loss you may incur. You join and hike entirely at your own risk.

*DISCLAIMER: By participating in this wellness hiking event, you understand that Meetup event Host/Organizer assumes ABSOLUTELY NO responsibility and you have to assume all at your own risk of injury, damage, and economic loss, without limitation, and release host/Organizer of all liability.

If anyone wishes to join our hike team, please answer the RSVP question every time for everyone's safety in the group. If you are unable to send me a message confirming that you are in good health and you are able to hike 5 miles without health issues we CANNOT approve you come to the hiking event.
*Please don't just walk in Thank you for your cooperation!

I'm looking forward to meeting, hiking with you and making good memories together.
Yours in good health! Dr. Heidi

❤️American Heart Association BLS-CPR, Heartsaver CPR, First Aid Courses -Learn and Live!❤️
*Three courses available upon request:
https://visibook.com/ahacprfirstaid
*By taking this course, you're contributing to the safety and well-being of those around you.
*These skills are crucial for everyone to know, as they can help save the lives of loved ones, friends, or even strangers in the community.