Two Vienna Woods Trailheads: On Aptos Creek Road across from the south end of the Buggy Trail and Mesa Grande Road in the Vienna Woods neighborhood.
Classification: Easy to Moderate
HIGHLIGHTS - While relatively short, the Vienna Woods Trail travels through two of the three vegetation zones in the park: creekside riparian and mixed evergreen.
From its start on Aptos Creek Road, the Vienna Woods Trail begins on a downslope reaching the Tillman Memorial Grove within 200 feet.
There it merges briefly with the Aptos Rancho Trail on a broad path down a steep hill. At the bottom, the Vienna Woods Trail branches right, down to and across Aptos Creek. Be aware that crossing the creek could be difficult or dangerous especially during or after periods of rain.
From approximately April 15 to October 15 the Advocates for the FNM install and maintain a seasonal bridge that makes crossing much easier.
Once across the creek, the trail turns north staying close to the creek as it winds through a lush riparian (creekside) plant community that is populated by redwood, big leaf maple and alder trees. Sword and bracken ferns line the trail. You will begin to climb slightly arriving at a place where, from the left, two unmarked paths come down from the Terrace Trail.
Proceeding straight ahead, the trail descends to a low area that stays wet most of the year. Here you will find a variety of water-loving plants including ginger, redwood sorrel (see photo right), forget-me-not, wild rose and redwood violet. Your trail soon comes to a fork where a right turn quickly leads to a pleasant redwood grove next to the creek.
The Vienna Woods Trail bears left at this fork and goes uphill to a plateau and an intersection with the Terrace Trail. Your route continues through the trail intersection for about 50 yards then turns left and climbs on a moderate grade over the next-half mile to the park boundary.
Leaving the creekside plant community, the trail climbs up a shady canyon into a mixed evergreen forest of redwood and Douglas fir trees. After making a hairpin turn, the trail winds out of the canyon to a warm, exposed ridge where oak and madrone trees grow along with sun-tolerant bracken ferns.
After crossing over the ridge, the trail climbs along the edge of another shady canyon that is home to many redwood trees. In contrast, on the right side of the trail, the redwoods give way to oak and manzanita trees that grow along the exposed ridge. Ground cover along this section of the trail consists of yerba buena, hairy honeysuckle, coffee berry, forget-me-nots and the ever-present poison oak. Soon you will reach the trail’s end at a private road near the Vienna Woods neighborhood.
by Jeff Thomson, Historian, author of Explore the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and Treasurer/Board member for the Advocates of the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Above: interesting fungus along the Vienna Woods Trail
This downed tree has been removed as posed a danger of falling onto the trail by the Advocates for the FNM monthly trail work day. (above)
Above photo: Advocates for the FNM monthly trail work crew building culverts to divert the rainwater from storms of 2023 off the trail and back into the drainage where it will stop eroding the trail.
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