The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Aptos preserves more than 10,000 acres of rugged secondary forest in the Aptos and Soquel Creek watersheds. First inhabited by Ohlone people, the land was heavily logged from 1883 to 1923 by the Loma Prieta Lumber Company, and remnants of mills and trestles still remain. Most of the property was later assembled by the family of Nisene Marks and donated to the state in 1963 after failed oil exploration, with later additions expanding the preserve. Today it is valued for its dense redwood forest, visible logging history, and striking geology, including the Loma Prieta earthquake epicenter.