Beyond

Sunnyvale Heritage Orchard

tiller at sunnyvale heritage orchard

Sunnyvale thoughtfully has preserved its heritage as bountiful agricultural land by reserving a large block of orchards and a replica of the house of some of the earliest Sunnyvale pioneers: the Murphy family. In 1994, the City of Sunnyvale preserved ten acres of Blenheim apricot trees to celebrate the important contribution of orchards to the early development of the local …

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Sunnyvale Landmark – Briggs-Stelling House

Briggs Stelling House

Originally constructed in the 1870s for George H. Briggs and extensively reconstructed in the 1920 for the Henry S. Stelling family, the mansion recounts the history of Sunnyvale. Briggs was one of the earliest pioneers who came from Boston in 1854. Stelling, the son of one of San Jose’s first orchardists, grew pears and award winning cherries. This large Redwood …

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Sunnyvale Heritage Tree – Monkey Puzzle Tree

The Monkey Puzzle tree is an exotic conifer. You can see a young example at 545 S. Sunnyvale. Araucaria araucana (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, Chilean pine, or pehuén) is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m (130 ft) tall with a 2-m (7-ft) trunk diameter. The tree is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. It …

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Wildflower Hotspots of the Santa Cruz Mountains

Spring in the Santa Cruz Mountains brings a rebirth of native flowers in the grasslands and wooded hills. In some areas, wildflowers are blooming more profusely as a result of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District’s resource conservation efforts, aimed to ensure long-term protection of natural and cultural resources on District preserves. Prescribed burns, like the one implemented at Russian …

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Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve

Pulgas Ridge is a small park, part of the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District, off of I-280 near Edgewood Road, just north of Edgewood County Park. There are about 6 miles of trails in the park with some great climbs and descents with amazing peninsula views. Most trails are single-track with a few paved road sections. The weather is usually mild. …

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Burleigh H. Murray Ranch near HMB

Burleigh H. Murray Ranch is a valley ranch located in San Mateo County inland from Half Moon Bay. The ranch was established in 1857 and became a California state park in 1983. There is only one trail and it parallels the creek running from the parking lot at the West end of the park back up the valley that fills …

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Sunol Wilderness

Sunol wilderness

Forty minutes from Sunnyvale is the Sunol Wilderness. The Sunol Wilderness is one in a chain of regional widerness parks in southern Alameda County. This remote and beautiful land is the domain of abundant wildlife, including eagels, red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, deer, coyote, bobcats, and mountain lions. The land is studded with oak and bay, carpeted with springtime wildflowers, and …

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Russian Ridge – Mindego Hill

The Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve is known for its showy display of wildflowers in spring. In summer, the hills turn to gold with the late evening sunlight. Autumn, when the fog recedes, is the ideal time to enjoy the ridge views of San Francisco Bay, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean through the crisp, clean air. Winter …

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Calero Park

Calero County Park is a large park in southern Santa Clara County. It is in a string of parks and open-space-preserves that stretch for 50 miles from San Francisco down to Gilroy. The 4,000 acre park is in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is comprised of the Pueblo lands of San Jose, the Rancho Canada de …

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