Beyond

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park

If you are looking for a peaceful and natural escape in the city, you might want to check out Guadalupe Oak Grove Park. This 62.7-acre park is located in the Almaden Valley area of San Jose, and it is one of the last remaining large tracts of deciduous oak savanna and oak woodland on the Santa Clara Valley floor. The …

Read More »

Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve

Are you looking for a place to enjoy nature, history, and recreation in the San Jose area? If so, you might want to visit Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve, a 348-acre park that offers a variety of trails, views, and wildlife for visitors to enjoy. Trails The preserve has about 4 miles of trails, ranging from easy to moderate, that …

Read More »

Joseph P Grant County Park

If you are looking for a place to enjoy nature, history, and recreation, look no further than Joseph D. Grant County Park. Located in the east foothills of the Santa Clara Valley, this park is the largest of Santa Clara County’s regional park and recreation areas, with 10,882 acres of open space and 51 miles of trails. Whether you are …

Read More »

Mission Peak

Mission Peak gets throngs of hikers but only a few trekkers take this route to the summit — an eight-mile out-and-back that stretches out the 2,000-foot ascent to the summit (the most-popular route ascends a similar height in a 5.2-mile out-and-back). It starts from the parking lot at Ohlone College along Mission Boulevard in Fremont, California. Just one trail — …

Read More »

Duveneck Windmill Pasture OSP

Duveneck Windmill Pasture OSP is oak meadowland at the top of a ridge, 1200 feet up Black Mountain, between Rancho San Antonio OSP and Hidden Villa. In 1867 G.W. Moody built a road from the Mountain View train station and a stagecoach stop and inn (the White House) for a stage running from San Jose to Pescadero. The White House was also known …

Read More »

Windy Ridge OSP

trillium

Windy Hill is named for its distinctive, breezy grass-covered hilltop, which can be seen from many areas of the peninsula. The 1,335-acre preserve features open grassland ridges and forests of redwood, fir, and oak. Peninsula Open Space Trust, a local non-profit land trust, provided major support for acquisition of this preserve. DIRECTIONS AND PARKING Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is …

Read More »

Long Ridge Open Space Preserve

Long Ridge OSP is a scenic section of the Bay Rim Trail system. From its grass-covered hills, you can see the Pacific Ocean beyond the deep canyon that holds Portola State Park. On the way there, you pass through two miles of forest with Douglas Fir, Redwood, Madrone, and several species of oak and tanbark. From the south: Park at …

Read More »

Wild Parrots of Sunnyvale

wild parrot of sunnyvale

A flock of wild parrots hang out most often in the area near El Camino Ave and Mathilda Ave, in Sunnyvale, where Matilda turns into Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.  At various times and, particularly, towards the end of the day, they congregate in Los Palmas Park, just a few blocks away. A cluster of palm trees in the park provide a safe …

Read More »

Sunnyvale Landmark – Wright Ranch

wright ranch house and tank house in sunnyvale

William Wright’s redwood framed, two story, side-gabled farmhouse is the oldest extant residence in Sunnyvale. Located at 1234 Cranberry Avenue. It probably was constructed in 1862 and certainly prior to 1876, when it appears as an illustration in Thompson and West’s Historical Atlas of Santa Clara County. It is a simplified version of the Gothic Revival style. Its original centered …

Read More »

The First Manufactured Home – Murphy House

historical photo of martin murphy jr house in sunnyvale

In 1850, the Martin Murphy Jr family had a 20-room house in what is now Sunnyvale. Because there were no lumber mills at that time, Murphy ordered the home to be built in Bangor, Maine; disassembled; shipped around Cape Horn; and reassembled. Because there were also no suppliers of nails, man named Dawson managed to put the house together using …

Read More »