The Loma Prieta Epicenter Trail Is Still Closed. What's Open in Nisene Marks This Fall?

On the State Parks brochure map for The Forest of Nisene Marks, a small marker deep in the Aptos Creek canyon reads "Loma Prieta Earthquake Epicenter," and "10/17/89" is printed beside it. The 37th anniversary of the earthquake came and went this month. The marker is still on the map, and the trail that leads to it is still closed.

That closure tells you what kind of park Nisene Marks will be this fall and winter. The famous destination up the canyon is off the table, and nobody has announced when it will reopen. Meanwhile, in 2026 the volunteers who maintain this park spent their days on the trails near the entrance kiosk. For anyone in Aptos who treats Nisene as a weekly walk, the lower canyon is the park for now.

Exactly what is closed, and where the line falls

The current California State Parks page for Nisene Marks lists three closures "until further notice due to storm damage and erosion":

• West Ridge Trail Camp
• Aptos Creek Trail
• The trail to Five Finger Falls, closed where the Big Slide Trail meets the Aptos Creek Trail

The Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks page for the park is more specific about the main one. It describes the closure as Aptos Creek Trail "from Aptos Creek Fire Road to the Epicenter." That puts the closure on the final approach to the earthquake marker.

Good Times ran into it in February 2025. Its writer hiked toward the epicenter with geologist Dwight Harbaugh and "almost" made it before finding the last stretch closed. In Good Times' account, Harbaugh said there wouldn't be much to see anyway, because the 1989 quake did not rupture the surface at the epicenter. The same piece puts the epicenter sign about 0.6 miles east of the fire road intersection, on a hike of roughly 6 miles out and back.

The road into the park has its own limits. State Parks says erosion has narrowed vehicle access to a single lane in some places, warns drivers that a lot of people walk on the roadway, and does not allow parking on Aptos Creek Road.

Why there is no reopening date

The storm damage goes back at least to January 2023. Santa Cruz Local reported that more than four weeks after the heavy rain, wind and waves, Nisene Marks was still closed beyond the Winter Gate because of road failures, landslides and fallen trees. Since then, Good Times found the epicenter approach closed in February 2025, and the current State Parks page still lists it, Five Finger Falls and West Ridge Trail Camp as closed.

The most recent large project in the canyon was a different kind of work. In September 2025, State Parks and the Resource Conservation District began a habitat restoration project along 1.5 miles of Aptos Creek, placing large wood in the creek. Lookout Santa Cruz reported that the work was expected to run through early October 2025, with short-term trail closures in remote areas while crews were working. That project was described as creek habitat work, and neither State Parks nor the Friends page gives a timeline for reopening the closed trails.

So "until further notice" is the most precise status available. For planning a weekend, assume the epicenter and the falls are closed.

The kiosk is the trailhead now

The open part of the park is a cluster of trails that start at or near the entrance kiosk and stay below the steel bridge. Advocates for Nisene Marks, the volunteer group that adopts trails here, publishes distances for each one on its hikes by distance page.

Advocates' own pages give two lengths for the Old-Growth Loop, so expect something between a mile and a mile and a half. The Aptos Rancho numbers measure two different things: the whole trail and the stretch from the kiosk to George's Picnic Area.

The Old-Growth Loop is the lower park's answer to the epicenter. Nearly all of today's forest grew back after clear-cutting between 1883 and 1923. State Parks notes that a grove of ancient old-growth redwoods near the Pourroy picnic area stayed in private hands and was only added to the park in recent years.

The rules in this zone are simple. According to State Parks, bikes are allowed on Aptos Creek Fire Road and on the Aptos Rancho, Split Stuff, Terrace and Vienna Woods trails below the steel bridge. Dogs are allowed on the same road and trails on a leash no longer than six feet. Past the Porter Picnic Area gate, dogs are not allowed, except for service animals. The park is open sunrise to sunset, and day use is $8 per regular vehicle or $7 for seniors. From Highway 1, take State Park Drive to Soquel Drive, turn right, go 1 mile, and turn left onto Aptos Creek Road.

The Friends page asks visitors to check at the entrance kiosk for current trail conditions. That matters most for trails beyond this short list, since their status can change after a storm.

Where the 2026 volunteer hours went

The best evidence that the lower park is the active part of Nisene this year comes from the Advocates' trail day reports. At the May 17, 2026 Trail Day, one crew cleaned the Vienna Woods bridge, filled a trail washout the report called a safety hazard, improved drainage, and cleared ferns and blackberry upstream from the creek crossing. A second crew cleared brush along the Old Growth Loop and the Advocate Trail and cleaned debris off the Old Growth Loop bridge. The report says park visitors had already noticed the difference. The Advocates' reports for July 19 and September 20, 2026 cover more work on the Old Growth Loop and the Aptos Rancho and Porter area trails.

The May report also shows how tight parking is. Because parking at Nisene is limited, volunteers met at the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County lot before heading into the park. Pacific Coffee Roasting, Companion Bake Shop and New Leaf Community Markets supplied the coffee, pastries and snacks.

The trails people can reach from the kiosk are the same trails getting this hands-on care, which is why the lower park is in good condition this season.

Winter shrinks the lower park, too

The next change comes with the rain. The brochure map marks a Winter Gate and the steel bridge. In its 2025 piece, Good Times said the upper parking lot closes in winter, so visitors park at the lower lot and walk the first mile to the trailhead. A 2014 Hilltromper report said the gate closes when the road gets too waterlogged and reopens once it dries out, so the timing depends on the weather.

Here is what that means this season. The canyon is already cut off beyond the Fire Road junction. Once the gate closes, the Porter end becomes a walk instead of a drive. And with no parking on Aptos Creek Road, the lots are the only places to park. Short loops that start at the kiosk, like the Old-Growth Loop from Emmett Reed Picnic Area, are the walks this setup doesn't affect.

The next chance to work on these trails

According to State Parks, the Nisene Marks Volunteer Trail Crew meets at 9:30 a.m. at the entrance kiosk on the third Sunday of each month. The Friends volunteer page describes the same third-Sunday workday, with work lasting until about 2 p.m., and asks volunteers to bring work gloves, lunch and water. The Advocates' own volunteer page says Trail Day runs every third Sunday except in December. By that schedule, the next one is Sunday, Nov. 15. Because the two sources disagree about December, check with the Advocates before planning on Dec. 20.

State Parks also lists Nisene as a "Crumb Clean" park, with a short video about the marbled murrelet, an endangered bird that nests in the park, and how visitors can protect it. It's a good thing to know before picnicking at Emmett Reed or George's.

I grew up with this park in my backyard, and I still find something new in the lower canyon. If you're trying to figure out which Aptos streets put the Aptos Creek Road entrance within walking distance, or you'd like to talk through what nearby trail access means for a home's value, Natalie Pinkerton is happy to help. Schedule a local market consultation and we'll start with the map.