Even after years of exploring Northern California, I’m continually surprised by our natural diversity. Every park, lake, and beach has its own personality. You turn a corner, and run into a new experience. We live in a great area to explore.

The Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve delivers surprises in spades. It is a beach without a sea. A mountain made of sand. A home for unusual plants that you won’t see anywhere else. And it’s only a short drive away.

Of course there was a sea here once, but ancient earthquakes upthrust hills of sand that now host lush forests more than five miles from the ocean. The proof lies in sand dollars and shark teeth fossilized over time.

Some call them "the rocks," but to me the reserve’s sandstone formations are miniature mountains carved by time, water, and man that pierce blue skies in myriad, fantastical shapes. And for a man afraid of heights, they pose a climbing challenge. But thanks to the encouragement of my guide, Candi, I made it to the top. The reward was a broad and beautiful panorama of forest-covered ridges and valleys all the way to a fog-covered ocean.

Man has made his mark on these mountains. The "trail" to the top has been created with hundreds of climbing holes, making the way to the top possible even for the non-goats among us. And the way is signed by hundreds of chiseled words, pictures, and symbols, reflecting the full range of human thought from the silly and banal to the serious and thoughtful. Is this ugly graffiti or are these artful pictographs that capture the essence of our culture? I don’t know, but I’m glad that I saw them.

The reserve is home to several rare and endangered plants, including the Bonny Doon manzanita, distinguished by its red branches and glowing silver foliage, the Ben Lomond spineflower, the Santa Cruz wallflower, Ben Lomond buckwheat, silver lupine, and the Santa Cruz cypress tree. You can also see trees that belong in the Sierra Nevadatall ponderosa pines. They don’t belong here, but they seem to like the sandy soil.

Be on the watch for some special animals, too, including Santa Cruz kangaroo rats and California tiger salamanders, along with the more common falcons, owls, hawks, and eagles.

Enjoy this special place, but don’t disturb the plants and animals that live there. There are few unique and beautiful places left in the world. Let’s not love them to death.

To visit the reserve, take Highway 17 to Mount Hermon Road. Continue straight past Highway 9 in Felton on Felton Empire Road, cross Empire Grade to Ice Cream Grade, then turn left on Martin Road. Use the parking lot on the right next to the fire station. You can also reach the reserve via Highway 1 out of Santa Cruz. Take Bonny Doon Road to Pine Flat Road, then turn right on Martin.