Zayante is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. It is a residential area located on Zayante Creek. The 2020 United States census reported Zayante's population was 729.
History
On July 12, 1834 the name Zayante was applied to land grants named for the Zayante tribe. Zayante was a stop on the South Pacific Coast Railroad. Four years in construction, due to the long tunnels, the railroad opened to through service on May 15, 1880. From San Jose the railroad went over the Santa Cruz Mountains through a series of tunnels including two over a mile long. Then it traversed a short tunnel and came out on Zayante creek where it traveled downgrade to Felton. Crossing the San Lorenzo River at Big Trees it joined the Santa Cruz and Felton Railroad for the trip down the narrow canyon to Santa Cruz
Initially the route was used mainly to ship lumber and various fruits grown in the area. The 1906 earthquake damaged the narrow gauge route collapsing tunnels. By May 1909, the tunnels were repaired and converted to standard gauge. In 1927, the route was used to run the "Suntan Special", a seasonal excursion train that came down the San Francisco Peninsula every summer Sunday and took passengers right to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The tracks through the Santa Cruz Mountains suffered major damage during a storm in February 1940. The line was officially abandoned in June 1940.
Tunnel #5 in Zayante is the shortest tunnel along the route measuring just 250 feet. It is entirely concrete-lined and it measures 22 feet high and 17 feet wide. In 1953, Southern Pacific sold the Zayante tunnel to Western States Atomic Vault Company.
The tunnel was modified to serve as a storage facility able to withstand nuclear assault and was renamed the Zayante Atomic Vault. By the end of 1953, the tunnel was sealed on either end except for limited-access entry doors. Both sides were gated and fenced and a 24/7 guard was stationed in a gatehouse on the south side. Inside, the floor was covered with concrete and overhead, an intricate climate control system was installed to maintain a constant temperature and humidity. The vault opened on May 2, 1954.
During the height of the Cold War, some of California's most important documents were stored in this tunnel, including the original journals of the State Legislature, the State Constitution, and microfilms of Spanish archives. Rumors also state that Walk Disney kept some of his earliest works stored in this archive. Western States Atomic Vault Company was purchased by FileSafe in 1989 which subsequently sold the facility to Iron Mountain in 2003. Iron Mountain closed the facility in June 2017.
So that's the history of what is now the small community of Zayante. With the railroad gone and the Atomic Vault decommisioned, a nice little place in the redwoods remains. The community hub is the Zayante Creek Market and Deli. It was established as a gas station in the 1940s. Today it fills the vital role of corner store. Be respectful of parking right in front of the store which is signed for customers.
To log this Virtual Cache as a find, you need to do 2 things:
1. Go to the coordinates which mark a vintage gas pump at the market that has been converted to an EV charger. There find the 9 letter word on the back of the pump below "Zayante Creek". Message me that word.
2. Take a picture of yourself near the pump or in front of the store and add it to your log. If camera shy, please include a picture of your GPS, or hand or some body part in front of the store (preferably more than just a thumb). DO NOT SHOW THE BACK OF THE PUMP. IT HAS THE ANSWER.
You don't need to wait for me to respond. Go ahead and log this after you send your answer. If there is an issue, I will contact you.
If you are interested in a deeper dive into the history of the area, here are some links.
Zayante Tunnel
Zayante to Mt. Charlie Tunnel South Portal
The Lost Tunnels
Club Zayante - Wild times in Zayante
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.