Explore Scotts Valley voter guides, local civic context and official resources for Santa Cruz County campaigns, with dated population and registration facts.
At a glance: Scotts Valley is an incorporated city in Santa Cruz County. Population: 11,578 (California Department of Finance estimate as of January 1, 2026). Registered voters: 9,069 (California Secretary of State, as of September 4, 2026).
Scotts Valley is an incorporated Santa Cruz County city with its own municipal government, separate from the City of Santa Cruz and nearby unincorporated mountain communities. Its local public-space resources include both city parks and protected open space, connecting everyday recreation to the valley’s wooded setting. Glenwood Open Space Preserves provides a specific local focus. The city’s preserve page says the land was protected in 2003 with California Wildlife Conservation Board funding. The city credits the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County with building and managing more than seven miles of trails across the preserve’s east and west sides and managing the property for special-species protection. Ownership, trail management and habitat stewardship should not be flattened into a single agency label. The city’s parks navigation also identifies Skypark, Siltanen Park, Hocus Pocus Park, MacDorsa Park and Lodato Park Trail. These individual places should not be collapsed into one preserve or assigned the same facilities. Use the relevant city or land-manager page for a particular route, reservation or access question, and keep land protection, trail management and municipal recreation responsibilities distinct.
Yes. It is a distinct incorporated municipality in Santa Cruz County.
The city credits the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County with trail construction and management and special-species protection.
No. The city lists individual parks and trails separately from Glenwood Open Space Preserves.
The city says the land was protected in 2003 with California Wildlife Conservation Board funding, and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County built and manages its trails.
9,069 (California Secretary of State, as of September 4, 2026).
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