Bonny Doon, Bonny Doon, CA

Bonny Doon sits in the hills northwest of Santa Cruz, high enough that the Pacific shows through the trees on clear days. One winding road threads through redwood and chaparral country, and there is no main street to speak of. Homes sit on large wooded parcels, mainly detached houses and cabin-like places reached by long driveways, with space between neighbors and privacy from the road. Shade and moisture set the mood: redwoods hold the canyons, scrubby chaparral takes the dry ridges, and open grass runs out toward the coast. Bonny Doon Beach is down on Highway 1, a short drive from the hills, and it gives the area its ocean access. Wild Iris Community Park and an equestrian park supply some local green space. Scattered farms and a school up in the hills never add up to a village, which suits the people who choose to live here. Higher Grounds, at 7065 Bonny Doon Road, is a volunteer-run coffeehouse that opens on Thursday mornings and takes donations for espresso and baked goods. Beauregard Vineyards, at 10 Pine Flat Road, pours estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay daily from a redwood cottage with outdoor seating, and it is the main reason visitors turn onto that road. For a full meal or a grocery run, it means driving down to Santa Cruz. That drive is the main fact of daily life. Bonny Doon Road drops from the hills toward town, and groceries and nearly every other service sit at the bottom of it. Mobile service gets patchy in the hills, so people plan their calls and their errands together. Distance is the cost of all this room. The roads are narrow and curved, and nothing is close enough to walk to. On a clear afternoon, though, the view out over the ocean makes up for much of the drive.