Bay Area Hiking - djVoo: Look it up, take your notes, and define your own

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1 Trails too old to trace

Yosemite National Park, Death Valley, etc.

2 Foothills Park (Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA)

An image from creative commons. It's an overview of the Foothills park, probably taken sometime in the Spring. It was not this goodlooking when I was there.

Hiked: August 6th, 2006
Entrance Fee: None (Palo Alto residents only)
Address: 3300 Page Mill Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 MAP
Difficulty: 3 out of 10
The longest trail in the Foothills Park is about 8 miles. It will probably take two to three hours to finish the longest route. A major portion of the trail is covered with tree, so the shades make it a nice trail for summer hiking.
Special note: Palo Alto residents only. Each palo alto resident can take up to 25 friends in up to two vehicles.

3 Mission Peak Regional Preserve (Fremont, Alameda County, CA)

Hiked: September 2nd, 2006
Entrance Fee: Free
Address: Stanford Ave, Fremont CA Map
Website: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission.htm

4 Stevens Creek Country Park (Cupertino, Santa Clara Country, CA)

Hiked: September 9nd, 2006
Address: 11401 Stevens Canyon Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014 MAP
Entrance Fee: $5/day per car, annual pass available
Difficulty: 2 out of 10
The longest loop is about 5 miles round trip, graveled trail with no steep slopes. It does go into the mountains though.
Special notes: I've seen signs about rare cases of rattlesnakes and mountain lions, but I never saw one myself.

5 Ed Levin Park (Milpitas, Santa Clara County, CA)

Hiked: September 16th, 2006
Address: 3100 Calaveras Rd Milpitas, CA 95035 MAP
Entrance Fee: $5/day per car
Difficulty: x out of 10
Length: The longest loop is about 7 miles round trip (if you go from park office to Sunnol Regional Preserve border, and then hike back)
Notes: No fun for summer hiking

6 Sunol Regional Wilderness (Sunol, Alameda County, CA)

Hiked: Oct 7th, 2006
Address: Southeast end of Geary Road, Sunol, CA MAP
Entrance Fee: $5/seasonal, weekends and holidays. $4 per trailered vehicle. Buses: $1 per person (empty bus $50; empty commercial trans. van $5).
Difficulty: 3 out of 10
Directions: Start from major highway 680, get off to southbound Calaveras, proceed southward for about five miles, turn left on to Geary Rd, the park is at the south end of Geart.
Length: The longest loop is about 5 miles round trip
Website: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol.htm
Notes: Make sure you print out a park map beforehand, or you could get a map at the entrance kiosk but the kiosk is not always staffed. This is important because this park is not well-signed. If it's your first time, you probably need to spend some time trying to guess where you are on the trail.

7 Castle Rock State Park (Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, CA)

Hiked: Oct 14, 2006
Address: 15000 Skyline Boulevard, Los Gatos, CA 95030 MAP
Entrance Fee: $6/day per vehicle when staffed
Difficulty: 4 out of 10, elevation goes from 3090 feet at trailhead, then descends to about 2300, then asends back to trailhead.
Directions: Start from major highway 85, get off onto southbound Saratoga Ave, continue on south(west)bound Saratoga Ave for about two miles, and Saratoga Ave becomes Big Basin way. Continue on Big Basin way for about five miles, go past Pierce Rd, then turn left onto Southbound Skyline Blvd, continue for about 2 miles, you'll see the park entrance on the right side of the road.
Length: The longest loop is about 5 miles round trip
Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=538 http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/castlerock.html http://www.santacruzstateparks.org/parks/castlerock/
Notes: Goat rock in this park also attracts many rock-climbing endeavers.

8 Big Basin Redwoods State Park (Boulder Creek, Santa Cruz County, CA)

Hiked: Oct 21, 2006
Address: 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA MAP
Entrance Fee: $6 per vehicle when staffed.
Length: 16 miles round trip
Difficulty: 3 out of 10. With an elevation change of only about 400 feet, this trail is not difficult , but it's relatively long (25 miles round trip).
Directions to the park: Start from major highway 85, then get off to west(south)bound Saratoga Ave. After about two miles, Saragoga Ave becomes Big Basin Way (highway 9). Keep going on Big Basin way for about 5 miles when Highway 9 meets Highway 35. This is a major intersection with four way stop signs. Go straight ahead on westbound highway 9 for about 5 miles until 9 meets highway 236. Turn onto west(south) bound 236, keep going on 236 for about another 5 miles, the park headquarter is on your left hand side. There are a few big parking lots and camp grounds and big building, you won't miss it.
Route: Start from park head quarter, go on to skyline-to-the-sea trail. Go south-west ward for about 12 miles until you reach the pacific ocean (Monterey bay). Then come back to park HQ thru the same route.
Interesting spots along the trail:
1. Berry Creek Falls, about 6 miles from the starting point (park HQ)
2. Waddel Beach and the Pacific Ocean, about 12 miles from the starting point (park HQ)
3. This trail pretty much goes along Waddell creek
Website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=540
http://www.santacruzstateparks.org/parks/bigbasin/index.php
http://www.bigbasin.org/
Notes:
- Start very early if you want to hike all the way from the park headquarter to the Pacific ocean. It's about 12 miles one way, and the round trip is about 25 miles. It took me 8 hours, but plan on 10 to 12 hours in case something happens on the hike.
- Do NOT drink the water from the creeks. It's reclaimed water and it's not for human consumption.
- Do bring enough water (4+ liters) and snacks. The Berry Creek Falls are really beautiful, espciall after a long hike. Waddel beach is just a so-so beach, but believe me, it looks much better after a 12-mile hike.
- Remember to get a map ($3) from the park office.
- There are bathrooms on either end of the trail (park HQ and Waddel beach), but no bathrooms in the middle.

9 Sanborn-Skyline County Park (Saratoga, Santa Clara County, CA)

Hiked: Oct 28, 2008
Address: 16755 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos, CA 95033MAP
Entrance Fee: Free
Length: The longest loop is about 8 miles round trip
Difficulty: 3 out of 10, an easy hike with an elevation change of about 600 feet.
Directions: Although there are quite a few trails close to the park head quarter, this trail starts form Skyline Blvd instead of the park head quarter which is on Sanborn Rd. Start from major highway 85, get off onto southbound Saratoga Ave, continue on south(west)bound Saratoga Ave for about two miles, then Saratoga Ave becomes Big Basin way (Highway 9). Continue on Highway 9 for about five miles until you get to the 35 junction. This is the first stop sign you will see after saratoga, so you wont miss it. Turn left on to highway 35, go southward on highway 35, there is a small parking lot about 2 or 3 miles past castle rocks state park headquarter. Turn left into the parking lot.
Route:
1. turn by turn directions
Interesting spots along the trail:
1. Indian rock
2. Summit rock
Websites:
Notes:

10 Memorial County Park (Loma Mar, San Mateo County, CA)

Hiked: Nov 11, 2006
Address: 10299 Pescadero Creek Rd Loma Mar, CA 94021 (Also head quarter for Sam McDonald and Pescadero Creek County Parks) MAP
Entrance Fee: $5 per vehicle, use self register station if not staffed.
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Directions :
1. Start from major highway 101 or 280 in Redwood City (or Woodside), get off to Highway 84 west to La Honda. Keep going on 84 until you see a stop sign. That's the intersection with highway 35. Go straigh ahead on 84 until you pass La Honda village, then turn left on to Pescadero Rd. Keep going on Pescadero Rd and the park entrance is on your left side.
Websites:
- http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/home/0,,5556687_12313313_12345082,00.html
- Official map (PDF)
Notes:

11 Pescadero County Park (Loma Mar, San Mateo County, CA)

Hiked: Nov 11, 2006
Address: 10299 Pescadero Creek Rd Loma Mar, CA 94021 (Also head quarter for Sam McDonald and Pescadero Creek County Parks) MAP
Entrance Fee: $5 per vehicle, use self register station if not staffed.
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Directions: Start from major highway 101 or 280 in Redwood City (or Woodside), get off to Highway 84 west to La Honda. Keep going on 84 until you see a stop sign. That's the intersection with highway 35. Go straigh ahead on 84 until you pass La Honda village, then turn left on to Pescadero Rd. Keep going on Pescadero Rd and the park entrance is on your left side. Look for the sign for Memorial Country Park because that's where you wanna pay.
Websites:
- http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/home/0,,5556687_12313313_12345082,00.html
- Official map (PDF)

12 Portola State Park (La Honda, San Mateo County, CA)

Image source: http://www.parks.ca.gov

Hiked: Nov 19, 2006
Address: Portola State Park Road, La Honda, CA 94020-9717MAP
Entrance Fee: $6/vehicle
Difficulty: 3 out of 10
Directions: Start from major highway 101 or 280 in Redwood City (or Woodside), get off to Highway 84 west to La Honda. Keep going on 84. The first stop sign you see on 84 is a 4-way stop sign in woodside city. The second stop sign is two-way stop sign. That's where highway 84 meets highway 35. Go straigh ahead on 84 until you see La Honda village. Go past La Honda village for about half a mile and then turn left onto Pescadero Rd. Keep going on Pescadero Rd for a few miles and turn left onto Alpine Rd. Keep going on Alpine Rd, go past Camp Pomponio Rd and turn right at the next stop sign onto Portola State Park Rd. Portola Sate Park Rd ends in the park office.
Interesting spots along the trail: This park features 2800 acres of redwood.
Websites:

13 Pine Ridge Trail in Big Sur (Big Sur, Santa Lucia County, CA)

Directions: If you are coming from Montery Bay to Big Sur along scenic highway 1, you'll see Andrew Molera State Park, Village of Big Sur, and then Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. About 1/2 mile after you pass Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, Big Sur Station is on the left (east) side of highway 1. There is a visitor info office, get a map from the visitor center. Go past the visitor parking and park in the overnight parking. There is a self-register at the entrance to the parking lot. Note that you need to self-register even when the visitor center is staffed. The price as of Nov06 is $4/day. That's all you have to pay, unless you have a stove and then you need to get a fire permit. No camp fire is allowed in the park.
http://jrabold.net/bigsur/roadpt0650.htm

14 Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve

Hiked: date
Address: Rhus Ridge Road, Los Altos CA MAP
Entrance Fee: Free
Length: about 9 miles round trip
Difficulty: 4 out of 10, with an elevation gain of 2300 feet
Directions: From major highway 280 in Santa Clara County, exit (near foothills college) to westbound El Monte/Moody Road. Keep going on Moody for about 1 mile, then turn left onto Rhus Ridge Road. The parking lot is on the right side of the road about .2 miles ahead.
Interesting spots along the trail:
1. 3,800 acres of Open Space Preserve
2. Black Mountain
Websites:
- http://www.openspace.org/preserves/maps/rancho_san_antonio_map.pdf
- http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/ranchoblack.html
Notes:

15 Saratoga Gap Open Space (Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, CA)

Hiked: Dec 02, 2006
Address: Skyline Blvd at Big Basin Way, Los Gatos CA MAP
Entrance Fee: FREE
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Directions:
Route: Start from park head quarter, go ...
1. turn by turn directions
Interesting spots along the trail:
Websites:
- []
Notes:

16 Skyline-to-the-sea Trail

Hiked Oct 21 (25 miles two way, from Big Basin HQ to Pacific Ocean), Nov 04 (20 miles two way, from Big Basin HQ to Waterman Gap), Dec 17(?) 2006 (12 miles two way, from Saratoga Gap to Waterman Gap)

The skyline-to-the-sea trail winds its way from Saratoga Gap (Highway 9 and highway 35) in Los Gatos to the Pacific Ocean. This is one of the most beautiful trails in the bay area. The first 16 miles (between Saratoga Gap and Big Basin Park Headquarter) are along highway 9 and then highway 236. This is where you'll see quite a few deserted cars that accidentally drove off the road sometime ago. The next 12 miles of the trail is in Big Basin State Park. There are a few beautiful waterfalls along the trail. Berrycreek Falls is probably the most beautiful one. It sits right in the middle of the Big Basin section of the skyline-to-the-sea trail, about 6 miles from the ocean and the park headquarter.

17 Trails To Cover

17.1 Mount Diablo State Park (Clayton, Contra Costa County, CA)

Image source: http://www.parks.ca.gov

Hiked: date TBD
Address: 96 Mitchell Canyon Road, Clayton CA 94517 MAP
Entrance Fee:$6/vehicle
Length: The longest loop is about x miles round trip
Difficulty: x out of 10
Directions:
1. Start from major highway 680, ...
2. turn by turn directions
Route: Start from park head quarter, go ...
1. Start from major highway 680
2. get off to east bound Diablo Rd
3. Keep going on Diablo Rd for about 3 miles, then turn left on to Mt Diablo Scenic Blvd
Interesting spots along the trail:
1. Mount Diablo summit
Websites:
- http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/diablo.html
- http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=517
Notes:

17.2 Joseph Grant County Park(Santa Clara County, CA)

img width=400 src=""

Hiked: date
Address: 18405 Mt. Hamilton Rd., San Jose, CA 95140 MAP
Park Office #: (408) 274-6121
Entrance Fee:
Length: The longest loop is about x miles round trip
Difficulty: x out of 10
Directions:
1. Start from major highway 680
2. get off to east bound Diablo Rd
3. Keep going on Diablo Rd for about 3 miles, then turn left on to Mt Diablo Scenic Blvd
Route: Start from park head quarter, go ...
1. turn by turn directions
Interesting spots along the trail:
Websites:
Notes:

17.3 Sam McDonald County Park (Loma Mar, San Mateo County, CA)

Hiked: date
Address: MAP
Entrance Fee: Free
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Directions (from official park website):
This 1,276 acre Santa Cruz mountain redwood park offers a wilderness experience for visitors interested in the park's mature stands of douglas fir and redwoods.
Websites:
- http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/home/0,,5556687_12313313_12345082,00.html
- Official map (PDF)
Notes:

17.4 Bay Trail

Note that this trail is not completed yet. For now, it's only probably hundreds of short paved trails (a few miles each). The future plan is they will be connected together into a circular trail trails that goes along the San Francisco bay shore. Map of bay trail

17.5 Bay Area Ridge Trail

Like bay trail, bay area ridge trail is a groups of trails in mountains surrounding the San Francisco Bay. If the bay trail is the inner loop, then the bay area ridge trail is like the outer loop. Map of the Bay Area Ridge Trail

17.6 Skyline-to-the-sea Trail

This trail starts from Saratoga Gap in Los Gatos (highway 9 and 35), and goes all the way weatward to the pacific ocean, totally about 30 milesMAP. Camping Information TrailMap

17.7 Half Dome trail in yosemite

14-mile or 17-mile hike depending on where you start. The cable section (50 degrees slope) is setup in May and removed in October. Unless you are professional rock climber, otherwise it's almost impossible to make it without the cables.

http://www.yosemitevacation.com/hike.halfdome.htm

17.8 Big Sur

A good three day trip would be hiking up the Vicente Flat trail from the trailhead on Hwy 1. Big Sur's Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain in the lower 48 states, ascending nearly a mile (5155 feet/1.6km) above sea level, only 3 miles (4.8 km)[WP]

18 Resources

California State Parks
Santa Clara County Parks
Santa Cruz County Parks
San Mateo County Parks
Jane Huber's Bay Area Hiking Site
Kyle's Backpacking Page, with a nice article about hiking the 32-mile "skyline-to-the-sea" trail in a day.
Virtual Park

19 Template Park Name (City, County, CA)

img width=400 src=""

Hiked: date
Address: MAP
Entrance Fee:
Length: The longest loop is about x miles round trip
Difficulty: x out of 10
Directions:
1. Start from major highway 680
2. get off to east bound Diablo Rd
3. Keep going on Diablo Rd for about 3 miles, then turn left on to Mt Diablo Scenic Blvd
Route: Start from park head quarter, go ...
1. turn by turn directions
Interesting spots along the trail:
Websites:
- []
Notes:

Comments

References

[WP] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur