Guides
3-day hike showcases best of the Santa Cruz Mountains
Campers flock to the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco; most are content to pitch a tent plucked from the trunk of their car, but hardy hikers prefer roughing it with all they need strapped on their backs. Two of the Bay Area's most popular hiking locales -- Castle Rock and Big Basin Redwoods state parks -- promise one of...
Long hike through old-growth redwoods to shimmering waterfalls is a Bay Area favorite.
Redwoods and waterfalls make this the best hike in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you're up for 11 miles and a thousand feet of elevation gain spread out over a half-day, you'll be amazed to see the strain melt away in this land of the giants. Veteran Berry Creek Falls hikers recommend a counter-clockwise loop starting on the Sunset Trail,...
Escape the crowds and take in the sights on this loop at the popular park west of Cupertino.
This route at Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Reserve ventures beyond the popular sections of the park to offer a diverse introduction to the terrain on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Rancho, as the locals call it, draws big crowds with its abundance of flat trails and attractions at Deer Park Farm, but few visitors...
Easy hike to a barnyard full of cows, chickens and other critters is a favorite spot at the park west of Mountain View
An easy walk to a working farm makes Deer Hollow a prized family outing in the South Bay. Cows moo, hens cackle, roosters crow -- all on a farm maintained by the city of Mountain View. The farm also features sheep, pigs, gardens, farm implements and a chance to look into the bedroom window of a 19th century farmhouse. Kid-centric events are staged...
Great hike from Los Altos Hills, towering 2812' over Silicon Valley.
Towering over Silicon Valley, waaaay back to the rear of Rancho San Antonio, lies 2812' Black Mountain. Starting at the little-known Rhus Ridge parking lot, you can enjoy a healthy workout and a grand panoramic view of Silicon Valley! The unusual snow picture was taken in December 2008. Your hike is much more likely to be sunny and dry! Other...
The nation's first urban National Wildlife Refuge is a jewel on the San Francisco Bay.
The nation's first urban National Wildlife Refuge is a jewel on the San Francisco Bay. Its 30,000 acres of open bay, salt pond, salt marsh, mudflat, upland, and vernal pool habitats are constantly changing. It's a great place to hike or watch birds. It's also a great place to see up close how a salt pond is turned back into wetlands. Look around...
2.6 mile trail near Cupertino, California
Seven Springs Trail is about 2.6 miles long and located near Cupertino, California. The trail is great for hiking and normally takes 1-3 hours. The trail-head starts at end of Prospect Road and there is plenty of shaded parking spaces. This route follows the seven springs trail up and the woodhills loop trail down to rance road and back to the...
Hiking above the reservoir at Stevens Creek Park
The Tony Look trail starts just upstream of the Stevens Creek Reservoir and continues downstream as it climbs the adjoining bluffs. It starts in a heavily forested area but opens up to chaparral and grassy hillside with increasing elevation. I've marked the trail as Moderation, but the climbing is not to difficult and the views are very nice. On...
Easy trails and mass migrations make this one of the best birdwatching locales in the San Francisco Bay Area
The ducks, geese, pelicans and egrets are only the most visible among the fascinating array of waterfowl hanging out near the Alviso Environmental Education Center of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The trailhead near Alviso on the southernmost edge of San Francisco Bay does have issues: one is the smell, thanks to an...
A scenic 4-mile loop on steep, paved trails with great views on Stanford University and the San Francisco Bay.
The Stanford Dish loop is a popular route for Stanford University students as well as Silicon Valley professionals. Its steep paved trail is suitable for running, walking, and hiking. Bicycles are not allowed. Opening hours vary depending on the month of the year: January 6:30 AM-5:30 PM February 6:30 AM-6 PM March 6 AM-6:30 PM April 6 AM-8 PM May...
Nice 1.4 mile trail for a quick hike with kids. Also suitable as an extension to other trails in Arastradero.
Arastradero Park offers nice trails for hiking, mountain biking and horse back riding. This guide describes the Redtail Loop Trail, which is the only trail on this site of Arastradero Road. The majority of trails is at the other site of the road. The Redtail loop is a short, 1.4 mile trail that provides an achievable goal for little kids. It has...
Get out of the office and see the Heritage Rose Garden and other downtown San Jose attractions
A paved trail along the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose, California, might be just what you need to work off some stress or even ride your bike to work. The Guadalupe River Park starts near the Children's Discovery Museum at the south end of Downtown San Jose and runs northward for 2.5 miles to Interstate 880. It's easily accessible via...
Multiple viewpoint loop hike along Skyline
This hike passes through 4 different Midpenninsula open space preserves. Monte Bello, Skyline Ridge, Russian Ridge, and Coal Creek. Along the way you will get some of the best long range views available on the penninsula, weather permitting. Begining in Monte Bello, you hike the easy route to the summit of Black Mountain via the Canyon and Bella Vista...
A moderate 5.3 mile loop with a 900-foot climb. A great springtime wildflower hike!
Spring in the Silicon Valley is an amazing time! The hillsides turn vibrant green and wildflowers sprout up everywhere! Only 20 minutes off Interstate 280, Monte Verde Open Space Preserve is a great place to view wildflowers! Directly from the parking lot, we started on the Stevens Creek Nature Trail, expecting to meet up with the White Oak Trail...
The San Andreas Fault runs nearly the length of the state. See it up close and personal.
Most Bay Area residents have felt the earth move—quite literally. You probably know that the San Andreas Fault runs nearly the length of the state. But did you know that you can see the fault for yourself? As you follow the lines of posts that mark the various fault breaks in the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, you can find out what's happening...
A ramble along Peters Creek past Wallace Stegner's bench.
This hike wanders through a little valley to the headwaters of Peters Creek and then out onto a ridge with striking views almost to the coast. It opens with a dangerous dash across Highway 35 (often busy on weekends) but soon leaves that behind as you descend into the valley of seasonal Peters Creek and follow it upstream. As you move up towards the...
This 15-mile loop passes through five parks that promise some of the best hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area.
If you've got the legs for 15 miles of ups and downs along the fabulous terrain near California Highway 35, aka Skyline Boulevard, then this hike deserves a spot on your to-do list. The route passes a bucolic pond, forests of oak and Douglas fir, and wonderful vistas overlooking the Santa Cruz Mountains west of San Jose and south of San Francisco....
1.4 mile trail near Vista Verde, California
One of the top easy hikes in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and perfect for just about anyone, no matter their size or ability. And it's got a lake, which always adds to the pleasure of a hike. The trail tread up to the dam is easily wheelchair accessible, and beyond that is a little more difficult, including a hillside traverse - not recommended for strollers...
Get your nature fix and add a short hike at this bucolic pond in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco.
Alpine Pond is one of the prettiest places in the string of open-space preserves along Highway 35, also known as Skyline Boulevard. That's saying something, given the abundant beauty in this stretch of the Santa Cruz Mountains between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. A nature center looks out over the lake. While it's possible to hike more than...
A family-friendly audio guide to a wildlife mecca in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
MROSD docent program manager Renee Fitzsimons and docent Sharon Thomas lead a 0.3-mile-long hike around Alpine Pond. Along the way, they explain where to look for brush rabbits, cormorants, crayfish, banana slugs, and pond turtles. They even make the shrubbery interesting, with stories about age-old human uses of cattails, willow, and oaks.
Excellent hike through the redwoods just west of Saratoga and south of San Jose, California
Sanborn Skyline County Park gets pretty busy on many weekends with family reunions, wedding receptions and other assorted gatherings -- if you end up at one and find yourself craving a hike instead of all that company, this is the loop to take. It starts on the San Andreas Trail and takes a vigorous march up the hillside west of the park. The trail...
All-day trek takes the best trails at two great parks along Skyline Boulevard southwest of Silicon Valley.
This is a great route for expert hikers -- it starts out in the lush redwoods of Sanborn Skyline County Park southwest of San Jose, climbs to Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35) and crosses over to Castle Rock State Park, where it takes the popular Saratoga Gap Trail and returns to Sanborn Skyline. Note this is very strenuous outing -- 16 miles with...
A family-friendly audio guide to a wildlife mecca in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
MROSD docent program manager Renee Fitzsimons and docent Sharon Thomas lead a 0.3-mile-long hike around Alpine Pond. Along the way, they explain where to look for brush rabbits, cormorants, crayfish, banana slugs, and pond turtles. They even make the shrubbery interesting, with stories about age-old human uses of cattails, willow, and oaks. The audio...
Great views, challenging hiking in the hills southwest of Silicon Valley.
With lush woods, gorgeous vistas, challenging trails and remarkable stone formations, Castle Rock State Park is a highlight reel for hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area. You'll find a fascinating mix to trees -- gnarled oaks, towering Douglas firs, bark-shedding madrones -- but the rocks steal the show. Large formations called "tafoni" (which look...
Explore 4 plant communities—riparian, forest, chaparral, grassland—in a short, scenic hike in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
A lively, sound-rich introduction to Skyline Ridge, one of the most beautiful and intriguing preserves in the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The adventure starts at the David C. Daniels Nature Center. Then you move to the watery world of cattails and willows at Alpine Pond, climb up through a mixed evergreen forest, weave through some scented...
Extra-strenuous hike goes to Monument Peak, Mission Peak and back over 14 miles in an excellent spring outing.
Hiking to Monument Peak from Ed Levin County Park, huffing it over to Mission Peak and returning is a true test of mettle for San Francisco Bay Area trekkers. If you're up for it, this is a great way to summit Mission Peak and skip the crowds--and parking hassles--at the popular Stanford Avenue entrance to Mission Peak Regional Preserve. Instead,...
A family-friendly audio guide to a wildlife mecca in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
MROSD docent program manager Renee Fitzsimons and docent Sharon Thomas lead a 0.3-mile-long hike around Alpine Pond. Along the way, they explain where to look for brush rabbits, cormorants, crayfish, banana slugs, and pond turtles. They even make the shrubbery interesting, with stories about age-old human uses of cattails, willow, and oaks. The audio...
See San Francisco Bay from high atop Mission Peak in Fremont, CA, USA. Strenuous 6-mile loop hike
Mission Peak, one of the most popular East Bay hikes, is a great workout with 2,000 feet of climb in two miles and spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and the Diablo Range once you reach the summit. Most hikers are content to take the so-called Hidden Valley Trail (which is neither hidden nor in a valley) to the summit, but there is a far more...
4.2 mile trail in Ed Levin County Park, California
Monument Peak is about 4.2 miles long and located near Milpitas, California. This hike is from Sandy Wool Lake in Ed Levin park to Monument Peak summit via the Monument Peak Trail and is great for hiking and normally takes 1-3 hours.
A nice quick escape for Peninsula hikers in need of a fix and a good workout.
This is a good hike to knock out if you're short on time, live in the area and don't want to waste time driving. You still get great scenery, a bit of wildlife, moody weather, and more and yet you can launch just outside of Portola Valley. But on the flip-side you'll see a lot of people and hear some road noise once you near Skyline. Last time I...
Hike to the backcountry just beyond the popular park on southeast edge of Silicon Valley.
The distance from sprawling, suburban San Jose to wide-open mountain-lion country is remarkably short--if you start out from Alum Rock Park. This track will have you walking in the wilderness in about an hour. It starts at the parking lot of Alum Rock Park on the southeast corner of San Jose, climbs steeply to the hills just beyond the city limits,...
One of the best scenic workouts in the Sierra Azul OSP around Los Gatos/San Jose!
The Open Space Preserve characterizes Sierra Azul as being rugged with steep terrain in the largest OSP in the San Jose/Los Gatos Area. This particular hike from the Limekiln trail head past the Lexington dam parking lot starts off gradually and continues uphill to the junction of Limekiln with Priest Rock. After the left on Priest Rock the real...
Towering redwoods and eye-opening vistas make this hike a great escape from the stress of Silicon Valley.
This hike at Wunderlich County Park takes you through some of the most common ecosystems in the South Bay: second-growth redwood, oak, madrone and open meadows. The park, just outside of Woodside on the west side of Silicon Valley, draws crowds on the weekends, and it can be hard to find a parking spot. That's why I recommend taking a day off from...
Temperature, terrain and amenities make the Bay Area one of the world's top destinations for outdoor recreation.
You've been to Alcatraz and done the Golden Gate Bridge, so what's next? Well, if you're into outdoor recreation, you'll have the time of your life in the hills, waterways and forests of the Bay Area. The boom times after the Gold Rush of 1849 created great fortunes and nearly destroyed much of the region's natural wonders, but preservation efforts...
4.7 mile trail in Alum Rock Park, California
This hike is about 4.5 mile round trip and can be done easily in less than 1.5 hours. It starts at around 800 ft and drops to 600 in .25 mile. Then it meanders till the start of South Rim Trail. There it climbs about 300 ft in 0.3 miles. There is a nice bench there if you are inclined to stop. Keep going to keep the cardio up. The next 0.8 miles...
All-day hike to grove of ancient redwoods in Portola Redwoods State Park is a must if you can do the distance
Delayed gratification is the story of this hike at Portola Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Silicon Valley. The first six miles are nice enough -- lots of ups and downs in second-growth redwoods -- but the real payoff is at the midpoint: Peters Creek Loop tracks through one of the last remaining stands of old-growth redwoods...
Vigorous and diverse six-mile hike takes samples the best of Portola Redwoods State Park west of Silicon Valley.
This is the essential loop at Portola Redwoods State Park. In just over six miles it ascends two ridges and stops in on the most impressive old-growth redwood in the park. It starts out near the park headquarters, climbs up Coyote Ridge, descends to Peters Creek, climbs again up the Slate Creek Trail, then descends via the Summit Trail, and takes...
Great mix of redwoods and Santa Cruz Mountains terrain on this hike near Portola Redwoods State Park.
This is one of the better redwood hikes in the San Francisco Bay Area -- which is nice because not so long there was no forest left here: almost all of it had been clear-cut. The second-growth redwoods at Pescadero Creek County Park demonstrate a forest's uncanny ability to regenerate itself, if people give it the chance. Several groves of skinny...
Beautiful redwood hike to Slate Creek Trail Camp at Portola Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
This is an excellent moderate hike through the second-growth redwood forest at Portola Redwoods State Park. It ends at Slate Creek Trail Camp, a popular overnight camping destination. The park is in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Highway 35 in one of the best hiking regions in the San Francisco Bay Area. While ancient redwoods are scarce because...
