The Santa Cruz Sandhills are found only in Santa Cruz County, which is located on the coast of central California. Within Santa Cruz County, the Sandhills occur on outcrops of sand soil known as the Zayante Series in the central portion of the County near the towns of Scotts Valley, Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, and Bonny Doon.
It is estimated that Sandhills originally covered more than 6,000 acres. However due to sand quarrying and development, fewer than 4,000 acres of Sandhills habitat remain today.