If we were to provide a recipe for a lovely day in Felton, California, we’d recommend a day of hiking followed by a sandwich and cider at Hallcrest Vinyards. There are a lot of great places to visit in this area, but for this recipe, we’ll keep it simple. We’re going to go on a hike. A beautiful place to start this hike is the Fall Creek Unit, at Henry Cowell, which is designated on the map by 1.
There are many beautiful, tick-free places to hike in Felton. Fall Creek Unit hiking is one such place. From here, there are multiple scenic trails that can be followed by varying levels of hiking ability, from beginner to Intermediate. A wonderful hiking group that occasionally runs hikes out of the Fall Creek Unit is the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay Hiking & More Meetup group. I have had nothing but good experiences with this group. The people are nice, and they make sure that stragglers don’t get lost.
After your hike, drive less than a mile (3 min) to Wild Roots Market, which is designated on the above map as 2. At Wild Roots Market, you will find all the ingredients for a picnic. Here, you can pick up a quality deli sandwich and some dessert if you like. Grab some fine chocolate if you want to experience a wine and chocolate pairing.
Finally, drive back toward Fall Creek Unit. About 200 yards after the turn back on to Felton Empire Road, you will see the sign for Hallcrest Vinyards on the left. Hallcrest is designated on the above map as 3. This is a lovely little winemaking spot!
Elke and I both love their wine, but what we especially enjoy are their ciders. Their gold medal standard cider is their Apple/Pomegranate cider, which is crisp and delicious, especially on a warm, breezy day with a sandwich. They experiment with a lot of different fruit combinations and flavors at HallCrest Vinyards. You can purchase a flight to taste all the flavors they have on tap for the day. On this day, we liked the Sweet Little Ly, which was Apple, Lychee, and Lime. Yum!
