The Bridges of Aptos Creek Canyon

For 25 years the Advocates have worked state park staff to install the seasonal bridges across Apps creek every spring.  Almost 30 years ago, Advocates volunteers and state park staff constructed Margaret’s Bridge over Aptos creek.  Located just above the Porter Family Picnic Area, this bridge also carries on a long tradition of bridge building in the Aptos Creek Canyon.

Back in the summer of 1883, construction was well underway on the Loma Prieta Railroad which would eventually extend over seven miles up the narrow and twisting canyon.  Railroad historian, Rick Hamman, once wrote that every railroad has its own particular engineering challenges and in the case of the Loma Prieta Railroad, it was the bridges.  

Four bridges were required just to reach the three mile point which is near the location of today’s Loma Prieta Grade trailhead.  Eight more bridges were needed over the next two miles to reach the five mile point, about a mile up what is now the Aptos Creek Trail. From there, the next mile and a half of the line through Hell’s Gate Gulch and the Big Slide area took over a year to construct and by one estimate, required up to 17 additional bridges.

Since the bridges of Aptos Creek Canyon have mostly been reduced to memory, we are especially fortunate to have the old photos of the logging era.  Through them, we can look back for a glimpse of what has disappeared over the past 100 years and gain a better appreciation for what remains