lands provide protection for natural vegetation, wildlife, and areas of scenic beauty. The District’s goal is to help preserve a greenbelt of open space linking District lands with state and county lands. By 2004 the District had acquired almost 49,000 acres in San Mateo and northern Santa Clara counties and a corner of Santa Cruz County. This greenbelt is creating a system of regional trails with outstanding opportunities for hiking, riding, bicycling and running. This large aggregation of open space lands creates important wildlife corridors.
In 2004, the District voted to expand its boundaries to the edge of the Pacific, an area of 220 square miles in San Mateo County (its current district encompasses 330 square miles in northwestern Santa Clara and southwestern San Mateo County). Shortly a group circulated a petition to repeal the action. The petitioners needed 4071 signatures to qualify a ballot measure, but the elections office certified fewer than 3450. On September 3, 2004, Judge Carl W. Holm issued a three-page ruling that rejected annexation opponents’ claim that they had gathered enough qualifying votes. He also lifted a temporary restraining order, dated July 13, that halted the annexation process launched in April.
This coastside protection program, endorsed by farmers, conservationists, and business leaders, is designed to protect the region’s unique rural and agricultural heritage. The MROSD gave up its right to eminent domain in this area and agreed only to buy from willing sellers. The District will soon conduct workshops and develop a process needed for democratic representaton of Coastside residents in the open space district.
In 1994, the voters in southern Santa Clara County formed the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (SCCOSA), a special district with a purpose similar to that of MROSD. It has purchased several parcels, one of which is open to the public—the Boccardo Open Space.
The Peninsula Open Space Trust, a nonprofit land conservancy, takes another approach to open-space acquisition. The Trust is dedicated to private and public preservation of open space in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Organized in 1977, the Trust has protected over 55,000 acres through purchase, gift and provision of local, private matching funds for public projects.
In 1995 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors adopted a Trails Master Plan, which was the product of several years’ work by citizens’ committees and commissions. This plan identifies 522 miles of trails and trail corridors that in the future will link the county’s urban areas and parks and connect with trails in adjoining counties.
San Mateo County’s Trails Plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in March 1990; a revision was drafted in 1995 and approved and made part of the County’s General Plan in 2002. This plan proposes a system of trails that would link county parks to other public parklands in this county and in adjacent counties.
Pressure for trails sparked state legislation for funding major trails to link state and county parks. Growing interest in regional trails led to bold programs initiated in 1987 for two Bay Area trail systems—the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Statewide citizen action has spearheaded planning for the Coastal Trail and the Anza Trail.
Hostels and Overnight Camping
As long-distance trails take shape, more camping and hostel facilities will be needed. In the area covered by this guide, camping by reservation is possible at many county and state parks in the mountains and at the beaches in the western part of the county. See Appendix I for a complete list and Appendix III for addresses and phone numbers. Backpack camps on Black Mountain in Monte Bello Open Space Preserve and in Butano State Park are available by reservation. Some campsites are reachable by long trails from the Bayside, such as the Hickory Oaks/Ward Road Trail from Long Ridge OSP to Portola Redwoods State Park. The Hikers’ Hut in Sam McDonald County Park and the Jack Brook Horse Camp in Sam McDonald Park are also available to groups by reservation with San Mateo County Parks Department.
Hidden Villa Hostel at the base of Black Mountain in Los Altos Hills, the first and oldest hostel in the West, is open September through May, but closes in summer to accommodate a youth camp. Welch-hurst Hostel in Sanborn-Skyline Park and the Montara and Pigeon Point Lighthouse hostels provide accommodations for travelers year-round. Be aware that most hostels close from 9:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. daily. Hidden Villa Hostel closes from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M.
Trail Building and Maintenance
The success of trail programs depends to a great extent on careful operation, good maintenance and citizen cooperation. Various organizations, including the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Association, Scouts, Sierra Club, the Trail Center, school groups, MROSD Preserve Partners, and San Mateo County volunteers, are making valuable contributions in trail building and clean-up projects. They also perform an important role in disseminating trail information and promoting a sense of stewardship for public land and respect for private property. See Appendix III.
Long Distance Trails
Four long Bay Area trails include segments in the area covered by this guidebook. With the completion of more than 267 miles of the proposed 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail and 251 miles of the San Francisco Bay Trail, users already have an unparalleled opportunity to explore our region at its highest elevations on the ridgetops and at sea level along the San Francisco Bay. Local pathways, like spokes of a wheel, will eventually connect our communities with both these encircling trail systems.
The Bay Area Ridge Trail is being developed by the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council working with the National Park Service, state and local park departments, regional open-space districts, and water agencies, and has completed 267 miles. In the area covered by this guide, it will link Peninsula trails from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco through San Mateo County’s mountainside parks to Saratoga Gap. Already more than 44 miles of trail in this corridor are completed; only a few gaps remain.
The San Francisco Bay Trail is being implemented by the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the nonprofit San Francisco Bay Trail Project. At the time of this guide’s publication, 251 miles of trail are in place, 43 miles of which are in San Mateo County.
The Coastal Trail along the San Mateo County Coastside, part of a Pacific Coast Trail from Canada to Mexico, is being implemented by federal, state and local jurisdictions. Local citizens assist in planning, implementation and trail maintenance. Many sections are completed and are described in the San Mateo Coast Beaches section of this book. At this writing there are 42 miles of trail completed.
The Anza Trail, a National Historic Trail, follows the path of Captain Juan Bautista de Anza on his quest to find a land route from Mexico to San Francisco in 1776. Now local agencies, under the auspices of the National Park Service, are marking this trail. Handsome signs along Highway 85 indicate that the trail goes somewhere nearby.
For more information on these ongoing projects, see Appendix III.
Information for Trail Users
The main purpose of this guide is to describe trips through our parks and preserves, giving a detailed account of each trail and information on elevation change, terrain, orientation, trip distance, and hiking time. The authors have drawn on their own experience of hiking on all the trails in this guide. Their enthusiasms are,
