Pilkington Creek is a tiny watershed with a lot to offer. The Pilkington Creek walking tour has 7 historically rich stops highlighting the tiny creek’s past. The tour was made by and begins behind the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History building marked by an enormous gray whale sculpture. The tour continues roughly ⅛ mile (500 feet) down river ending in the sands of Seabright Beach. We highlight a few stops below, but the complete stories can be found in blog form or in our mobile app, Mobile Ranger Guides.
Beginning upstream, meet the native people that once called Santa Cruz their home.
Discover the ancient uses of native trees and how one non-native tree has became a migrating butterfly’s haven.
On the sands of Seabright Beach, see how land management practices affect the way the beach looks today.
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Ancient peoples might have managed the landscape around Santa Cruz, California through fire, but we can also see current small-scale land management pract ...
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What will people hundreds of years from now think of American culture when they rummage through our trash? Especially in the absence of written records, a ...
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Although it is easy to spot many different plants growing along Pilkington Creek in Santa Cruz, California, it’s harder to spot animals, especially large ...
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Pilkington Creek is behind the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, which is at 1305 E. Cliff Drive. The creek might be a far cry from its wild and sceni ...
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Many people have heard the name Ohlone or Costanoan used to describe the native people who lived in Santa Cruz, California and the surrounding Bay Area. C ...
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The California coastal landscape has been managed in some way by people for thousands of years. In the Santa Cruz area, the native Awaswas people*, set fi ...
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The Awaswas*, the native people indigenous to the Santa Cruz area of coastal California, could recognize hundreds of plant species and knew a variety of u ...
Thank you for writing about the Awaswas people of the Aptos area. It is my new home and I like getting some well-written context in so that I can enjoy my experience, and respect the experiences of the Awaswas peoples, better.
Daniel Santillano
Aptos