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Bookshop Santa Cruz Outdoors
We're launching a new season of outdoor book-related events—Bookshop Santa Cruz Outdoors—combining our love of nature with our love of reading! This series of excursions is centered on themes such as writing, birding, photography, and poetry, and the hikes are led by authors, historians, and artists who are inspired by nature.
See photos and art from one of our past events
2011 Season
HIKE & WRITE with Clifford Henderson
Sunday, May 22nd at 10:00 a.m.
at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Be inspired by nature while discovering your writer’s voice. In the early stages of fiction, one must consider setting. What better place to explore this aspect of writing than in a place rich with inspiration and full of old growth knowledge, one of Santa Cruz’s treasures, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park?
COASTAL HIKE & HISTORY with Gary Griggs
Saturday, June 25th at 2:00 p.m.
on West Cliff Drive
The second event in this year’s Bookshop Outdoors series will be a guided coastal walk with local historian, writer, and UCSC professor Gary Griggs. The hike will be a moderate walk along West Cliff drive from Lighthouse Field to Natural Bridges.
HIKE & PHOTOGRAPHY with Ken Alley
Saturday, August 6th
Back by popular demand!
Beginning and experienced photographers alike will enjoy this event led by popular photography instructor and lecturer Ken Alley. All that is required of participants is a camera (anything from a point-and-shoot to a SLR), a general interest in photography, and a desire to observe. Learn to take what you see and make sense of it photographically—with the guidance of a great teacher.
2010 SEASON
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HIKE & POETRY with Ellen Bass
Saturday, April 24th at 2 p.m.
at Wilder Ranch State Park
We launched our 2010 season of Bookshop Santa Cruz Outdoors with a Hike & Poetry excursion led by Ellen Bass. Participants were inspired by nature while discovering thier poetic voice. Local poet Ellen Bass led a moderate hike through beautiful Wilder Ranch State Park and guided us through writing exercises inspired by the natural world.
HIKE & MYSTERY with Laurie King
Saturday, June 19th at 2:00
Henry Cowell State Park
Murder Among the Redwoods
Crime fiction delights in contrast: violence in a quiet library; a bloodthirsty little old lady. With that in mind, a peaceful walk through the quiet woods with a crime writer becomes an entirely new experience, with threat lurking in the most bucolic and unlikely setting.
At Bookshop's Outdoors event, bestselling author Laurie R. King led a walk through the beautiful-but-spooky redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park. Her twisted mind came up with ever more ingenious ways to commit mayhem on the innocent, and more seriously, to explore the ways in which setting is used to define and add dimension to a fictional thrill.
HIKE & PHOTOGRAPHY with Ken Alley
Saturday, August 7th at 10:00 am
Henry Cowell State Park
Beginning and experienced photographers enjoyed this event led by popular Cabrillo College photography instructor Ken Alley. All that was required of participants was a camera (anything from a point-and-shoot to a SLR), a general interest in photography, and a desire to observe. The gorgeous redwoods of Henry Cowell allowed the group to shoot in an easy-to-traverse area that had good light and some real challenges. We learned to take what we saw and make sense of it photographically, with the guidance of a great teacher.
HIKE & SKETCH with Tom Killion
October 2010
Outstanding Bay Area artist Tom Killion returned to lead another wonderful Hike & Sketch event in the beauty of the Pogonip. Killion's Bookshop Outdoors events have sold out quickly each time we've been lucky enough to have him on the schedule.
2009 SEASON
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Hike & Write with Dan White
Saturday, April 18th in the Pogonip
Our Outdoors series kicked off on April 18, 2009 with an event led by Dan White, author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind—and Almost Found Myself—on the Pacific Crest Trail. Dan led this hike and series of impromptu writing exercises through the treasured Santa Cruz Pogonip. The scenic 640-acre expanse was the perfect setting for participants to practice writing themselves into nature. We had a wonderful time and left very excited about future events.
Hike & Poetry with Patrice Vecchione
Saturday, May 30th
in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Our second Bookshop Outdoors event was a Hike & Poetry afternoon with Patrice Vecchione, author of Writing and the Spiritual Life. Guided by Ms. Vecchione's writing exercises and inspired by the beauty of the surrounding redwoods, participants immersed themselves in poetry and explored the strength and resonance of their inner voices.
Family Hike & Explore
Saturday, June 27th at 10 a.m.
at Natural Bridges State Park
Host Martha Nitzberg, the lead interpretive naturalist of Natural Bridges State Park, led a two hour event filled with activity and discovery. Centered around the tidepools at Natural Bridges, it brought the event’s companion book, One Small Square: Seashore to life!
Hike & Birding with Todd Newberry
Saturday, September 19th & Sunday, September 20th at 7:30 am at Natural Bridges State Park
Local birding expert Todd Newberry, author of The Ardent Birder: On the Craft of Birdwatching, led two Hike & Birding events at Natural Bridges. Mr. Newberry’s passion for the “lovely madness” of bird-watching, combined with his field expertise, made for delightful and insightful excursions. Participants received a copy of The Ardent Birder in addition to Todd's guidance, insight, and enthusiasm.
Hike & Sketch with Tom Killion
Saturday, October 17th in the Pogonip
Outstanding Bay Area artist Tom Killion led our Hike & Sketch event last fall. Known for his gorgeous woodcut prints of the local landscape, Killion begins each of his printing projects with extensive on-site sketching (he never works from photos). We were excited to team up with him to provide participants with an unforgettable afternoon of beauty and inspiration.
Photo by Joy McCauley
