Tag Archives: park

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 — …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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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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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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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