Ben Lomond, CA

Ben Lomond sits near the middle of the San Lorenzo Valley, where the San Lorenzo River meets Love Creek. Felton is the next town downstream, and Brookdale and Boulder Creek are the next two upstream, all strung together by Highway 9. Ben Lomond Mountain rises to the west, and the river winds along the valley floor below it. The settlement grew around a lumber operation and was first called Pacific Mills. When founder James Pierce applied for a post office in 1887, officials turned down the name because other towns already used it, and the community took the name of the mountain instead, borrowed from Scotland. The mill is long gone. What draws people now is the forest, the river and a pace that feels far from the coast side of the mountains. Off the main road, side streets climb into the hills, and houses thin out into cabins and larger wooded lots with long driveways. The valley towns blur together along the highway, and what separates them is mostly a change in the stretch of forest between. Meals reach beyond the highway strip. La Placa Family Bakery covers pizza and baked goods, Corazon De Leon serves Mexican dishes from the Guanajuato region, and Aroma, a little way up the valley in Brookdale, is the dressier dinner choice. Mountain Feed and Farm Supply sells plants and home goods and hosts occasional pop-up bakers. The big redwood parks sit at either end of the valley. Big Basin lies up past Boulder Creek, and the old-growth groves of Henry Cowell are downstream near Felton, each a drive from here. The county also keeps several small parks within the community. Santa Cruz is the nearest city for larger shopping and most appointments, and the drive follows the canyon the whole way. Because there is one main road, any slowdown on it is felt across every town in the valley. Here the creek, the canyon road and the forest are part of an ordinary day.