Ben Lomond, Ben Lomond, CA

Ben Lomond is a redwood town strung along Highway 9 in the San Lorenzo Valley, a canyon drive up from Santa Cruz. The center is only a few storefronts long, yet it holds a library, a market, two bakeries and a handful of cafes, enough to make it a real stop and not just a bend in the road. Homes are mostly single-family houses and cabin-style cottages among redwood, oak and madrone. Lots tend to slope and driveways switch back up the hillsides, so the feel changes from street to street, from small cabins near the river to larger houses with decks pointed at the trees. Remodels and added rooms are a regular sight. Highlands County Park, at 8500 Highway 9, spreads over 26 acres with a big playground, a tennis court, a skate park, a lawn and a historic house, and river access is close by. Ben Lomond County Park, on Mill Street, is an old riverside spot for picnics. Longer walks head to Quail Hollow Ranch County Park, where one moderate loop has several good viewpoints. Loch Lomond Recreation Area, a short drive away, rents rowboats and electric motorboats and has around twelve miles of trails. Coffee Nine, at 9505 Highway 9, opens at five on weekdays and bakes its own bagels, croissants and loaf bread, with a pizza night once a week. Spanky's serves breakfast on the other side of the road, and Henflings is the local bar and grill. Masood's Liquor and Deli is praised for its tri-tip sandwiches. Everyday groceries come from the Ben Lomond Market, and the library branch is right in town. The bigger Safeway is in Felton, with Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz after that. Nearly every errand in Ben Lomond is a drive, and one main road carries all of it. That road is a curving two-lane, so a breakdown or a busy summer weekend can stretch a trip to Santa Cruz well past the usual time. Past the last storefront the redwoods close in on both sides and the noise falls away fast.