Visit Santa Cruz’s Neary Lagoon for a Wheelchair-Accessible Nature Stroll
Located in a very unlikely spot – between a water treatment plant and a residential neighborhood – Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge is one of Santa Cruz’s best kept secrets. Although the water treatment plant may be a little off-putting at first, once you enter the 14-acre marsh area you’ll feel as though you’re out in the wild. Truthfully you’d never suspect there’s a housing development on the other side of the overgrown reeds. Add in some excellent wheelchair access and you have the perfect spot to escape from the city and enjoy a pleasant wildlife walk.
Getting There
There are two main access points to the 44-acre refuge, but the best choice is the small parking lot on the corner of California and Bay Streets, right next to the water treatment plant. For GPS purposes, use 110 California Street. There’s an accessible parking spot in the lot, with curb-cut access up to the cement walkway. An accessible restroom is also located at this entrance.
Alternatively, there’s also an entrance on Chestnut Street. From Laurel Street go south on Chestnut, past Everson Drive and the Neary Lagoon Apartments, until the road dead ends at the refuge. And if you get lost, just punch in 81 Chestnut Street on your GPS, which will take you to the apartments. Accessible street parking is available near the Chestnut Street entrance, and unlike the metered street parking next to it, there’s no charge for the accessible street parking. That said, there are no restroom facilities at this entrance, so plan ahead.
From the California Street parking area follow the cement walkway that leads through the playground and past the tennis courts. There are a few accessible picnic tables near the playground, if you’d like to pack along a snack. A small pollinators garden with level dirt pathways is located next to the tennis courts, if you’d like a slight diversion. From there it’s a gradual but sustained descent to the actual lagoon. At the bottom of the cement walkway make a left on the hard packed dirt trail, then take the first right to reach the boardwalk to the lagoon. From the California Street parking area it’s about a quarter-mile to the beginning of the boardwalk.
Explore Neary Lagoon
The wide level boardwalk offers excellent access through Neary Lagoon, with viewing platforms, interpretive plaques and benches located along the way. The stationary boardwalk then transitions to a floating walkway, where you’ll spot an abundance of water fowl, including Mallards, Wood Ducks and American Coots. Take some time to go all the way to the end of the observation deck, to enjoy this freshwater marsh that’s teeming with wildlife.
As the floating walkway continues, it transitions back to a stationary boardwalk and heads through a riparian woodland filled with warblers, sparrows and kinglets. When the boardwalk ends, make a right on the hard-packed dirt trail and continue along through the grassy meadow to the Chestnut Street entrance.
Finally, to make the full loop, head towards the bridge (be on the lookout for Great Blue Herons along this section), then follow the combination dirt and asphalt walkway back to the California Street entrance. It’s a pleasant one-mile loop, with plenty of places to stop and observe the wildlife along the way. And if you’d just like to sit back and chill for a bit, there are also a number of benches bordering the marsh.
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