One night bikepacking trip - South Bay to Aptos

On May 10 & 11 I'm going to do an overnight bikepack to camp at New Brighton State Beach.

Campbell/San Jose to Aptos, via Los Gatos Creek trail, Old Santa Cruz Highway, Soquel-San Jose Rd. Overnight stop at the bike camp at New Brighton State Park near Aptos.

Overview of route

Schedule:

Leaving from "Big E Cafe" at 10am Saturday (5/10). I'll be there around 9am to grab coffee and a breakfast empanada.

Take Los Gatos Creek Trail until it ends at Lexington reservoir, then take the quiet and pretty Old Santa Hwy to Summit Road.

Summit store is an option for a quick pitstop at the top, then descend into Corralitos and definitely a stop at the Market and Sausage shop in Corralitos. Then continue on to New Brighton.

Bike camp is no reservation. That'll be new for me!

I plan to take freeze dried meals for dinner and breakfast, but it would be possible to eat out in Aptos, Soquel or Capitola for anyone who didn't want to carry food.

Sunday, return via similar route, but the slightly shorter route up Soquel-San Jose Rd to Summit Road.

Other logistics

Big E Cafe: is in the lot with Safeway, close to the Camden exit on 85. Easy to get to if you're being dropped. I don't know if you can leave a vehicle overnight. Winchester light rail is a good option for public transport, it's about 5miles away. If coming via Winchester LR you might want to meet me on Los Gatos Creek Trail - we can discuss in the comments!

The bike camp at New Brighton is first come, so I assume each person will need to pay.