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Dillon Greiner of Santa Cruz Surf School gives India Valles some tips. Photo by Chip Scheuer.

Dillon Greiner of Santa Cruz Surf School gives India Valles some tips. Photo by Chip Scheuer.

Best Day Hike

Skyline to the Sea Trail—Big Basin to Waddell Creek

Just because it’s a net elevation loss doesn’t mean this is an easy walk in the woods. Starting at Big Basin State Park Headquarters and ending at Rancho del Oso on Highway 1, the last 12.5 miles  of the 30-mile Skyline-to-the-Sea trail.html includes some ridges, for one thing. But the scenery can’t be beat. From graceful redwood forests to fern-lined canyons and past 60-foot Berry Creek Falls, the trail takes happy wanderers through some of the best of what Northern California has to offer. With a little planning (and an advance party to park a car at Waddell Creek), this can be as rewarding a day of hiking as any. (TH)

21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek. 831.338.8860.

 

Best Way to Make Biking More Fun 

Bicycle Fitting at the Spokesman

What’s better than $200 underwear? Getting your bicycle adjusted so it fits your body. Serious bicyclists have known this secret for some time, which is why Wade Hall of the Spokesman is somewhat of a legend around these parts. After spending an hour with Hall, his bike-fitting contraption and his video camera, your $1,500 bike will ride like a $3,000 bike. (AG)

231 Cathcart St, Santa Cruz. 831.429.6062

 

Best Number to Know When a Toothache Strikes on Saturday

Landmark Dental

Dr. Scott Weston and Dr. Trang Tran, a husband-and-wife team, are on a mission to take the pain and stress out of dental health care. Their method is partly medical—patients can request the happy-gas technically known as “inhalation sedation,” or IV sedation that will not knock them unconscious. But under that is a philosophical commitment that combines an old-fashioned, conservative approach with a refreshing belief that dentistry does not have to hurt. And for now anyway, they are available for evening and weekend appointments. (AG)

3319 Mission Dr, Santa Cruz. 831.464.1372

 

Best Survival Insurance

Adventure Out Wilderness Survival Class

People who like to play outdoors far from roads or cell phone range should probably know a thing or two about getting through a night in the woods without freezing. Adventure Out’s five-hour wilderness survival class teaches some survival basics that can put you (and your poor worried mother’s) mind at ease. You won’t learn how to harvest water from flower stamens or the art of snaring a wabbit, but you will learn how not to die should things take an unpleasant turn out there in the wild. (TH)

www.adventureout.com

 

Best Place to Take The Waters

Mercey Hot Springs

When Paraiso Hot Springs closed a few years ago, local hot springs lovers denied, bargained, raged and wept—and then finally googled “hot springs central California.” Located two hours from Santa Cruz off I-5, this rustic getaway with the sulphurous hot springs and smattering of simple cabins is undergoing a long-term renovation in a sustainable direction, with solar power and new tubs and plans for a café. Yoga retreats and a faintly surreal disc golf course provide the activities, should any besides soaking and napping be required. (TH)

www.merceyhotsprings.com

—Alex Gilrane and Traci Hukill