"Beautiful Mountain" Yes, indeed!…read more PSA: No dogs allowed - I had to leave mine at home. It's ok, you can enjoy this one alone! Take the drive! Yes, the road is windy and please slow for cyclists on your way up. Come along, sing a song. Dancing feet, magical retreat. Bring a friend or brave alone, it'll be worthwhile - 2, 4, or 7 miles! Our small group hiked the 7 mile loop, and had many photos stops along the way. Our leisure hike took approximately 4.5 hours. We spotted a tarantula early on the trail, other hiking groups, a backpacking group, bikers in groups and a few solo peeps. Shaded Hike & Open Space Sunny Hike: If you're wanting a shaded hike, start on the White Oak Trail located to the right of the Monte Bello parking. If you begin your hike on Bella Vista Trail, it's more of an open space with direct sunlight. Start early and enjoy! =)

Monte Bello is a hidden treasure for the Mid-Peninsula area…read more Funny thing, though. For being hidden, it's sure well known. To get there, you drive seven miles up a narrow, windy road. You're wondering if there's anything here besides big houses on tree-filled hills. Make a sharp left at Foothills Park - oops, never mind, you don't live in PA, you can't drive in here. More driving, more driving . . . and you finally get there, only to find a spacious parking lot crammed with cars. Here's why I gave it five stars: At first, it looks like typical landscape on this part of the Peninsula. But then I went down the narrow Stevens Creek Nature Trail. And ended up in a deep, dark forest with a babbling brook, pretty wildflowers, romantic bridges, and interpretive signs to explain what you're gazing at. If you felt like you got away from it all by driving up Page Mill Road, now you *really* feel like you're away from it all. Monte Bello also has a few peaks to climb up, and a backpacking camp. I'm itching to come back to try these out. I was not here long enough to really appreciate Monte Bello, but I saw enough to appreciate it a LOT. I had written about Russian Ridge that it's part of a conglomerate of Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserves that gives you a few days of outback hiking. Monte Bello is part of that conglomerate, which combines with Los Trancos (and Foothills Park, but don't tell anyone, shhhh) to give you even more wandering. And bring a lunch, because you'll be so mesmerized that you may forget to leave and get food.

Purissima Park is a dog-friendly place that features multiple baseball fields, bathrooms, and water…read morefountains. There is also an area for horses. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any horses on the day we visited. We took the path that circles around the back of the park (which is adjacent to the freeway) and leads to the nearby dog park. If you want to take your dog to the dog park, this is where you should park your car.

Located in the Town of Los Altos Hills, Purissima Park houses baseball fields and soccer camps for…read morekids. Challenger sports soccer camps, run here on a weekly basis over summer, are staffed by British and Brazilian coaches to provide for great learning experience and cultural education. It is also a home to the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Department, the Los Altos Hills Horseman's Association, and the Los Altos Hills/Los Altos Little League. The Town Riding Arena and the baseball fields can be reserved through the parks and recreation department in advance for various events.

If I need a place to get away and pray and meditate or just quiet my mind, take a walk or be in…read moreamazement at nature, this is one of my escapes. Let nature speak to your soul.

This is a nice little 6-acre open space area in a residential neighborhood. I like it because you…read moredon't have to go far into the hills to see the redwoods, it's close to town. A short boardwalk trail goes around the trees. The preserve has a trail to Shoup Park, it's about a mile there and back with the preserve loop trail. I think this place would be much better in the wintertime when the streams are full of water. In the summer it was dry and hot even in the shade. This would be a good place for a birder; I heard many birds throughout and saw a few woodpeckers.

This is a place I have been visiting since childhood. I grew up nearby and attended Covington…read moreJunior High, and we often biked to this park as kids. As we move beyond our teenage years into our 20s and beyond, we start to cherish vivid memories of our past. If you're looking for a great spot to take a leisurely walk, not far from the preserve, where you can enjoy the laughter and cries of people and children, I highly recommend Shoup Park. It's a peaceful and serene place to escape and unwind.

A small park near Los Altos downtown with playground, shaded grassy picnic area surrounded by big…read moreredwood trees, public restroom, event hall and a short walking trail. It's located next to Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, there is a trail connected both parks. The barbecue grill area is quite new and spacious. The grill, sink and tap water are all well-maintained. Ample of free parking.

Came here for the Spring Ridge Trail hike on 8/1, which is 2 miles one-way. There is a public…read moreparking lot right where the trail head is, it does get full but there is street parking right outside the lot as well. There is a bathroom outhouse right in front of the trail. This trail isn't too steep, mostly slow incline all the way up except for a few short steeper parts. The path is mostly dirt and lots of small rocks especially on the hilly parts. On the way, we saw some insects like flies, dragonflies, and a warning sign for rattlesnakes. Also saw 1 lizard.

Had my first hike of the year, and it was a beauty! The weather worked in my favor, and hitting…read moregolden hour was a bonus. I should have stayed longer to hit sunset, but that can be for another time. It was definitely windy, so be mindful of that if you decide to trek here. The views were so worth it!

Our kids love visiting the donkeys and riding bikes on the path here. It feels more like a quiet…read morenature space than a typical city park. -Play Area: Playground for various ages. -Amenities: Walking paths, picnic spots, donkey pasture. -Shade & Scenery: Natural open space with shaded paths. -Accessibility: Wide paths suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. -Parking: Street parking available. -Good for: Families, nannies, caregivers, daycares

I love coming to this park with my dog. It's a wonderful 13.8 mi park. Bol park was named after…read moreStanford physicist Cornelis Bol. Bol Park opened to the public in April 1974. There are two donkeys that live there. They are named April and Buddy. You can see them walking the park with their care takers from time to time. You can meet the donkeys for a walk on Sundays from 10-11 a.m. There use to be three donkeys. The third was named Perry and he passed this year, 2025. Perry was the donkey that Disney's- Shrek's donkey was based off of. They are gentle and sweet and friendly to visitors. You can donate to the donkeys at https://barronparkdonkeys.org. My dog and I love walking the pathways and hanging out around the grass fields and trees. It's a great place for kids because of the cute playground, picnic tables and water fountains.

Fun spot to come for a hike if you want to see some horses and experience a variety of scenery…read more You start in a pretty big open hilly field, this area is mostly brush, though there is a clear trail. There's a tree at the top of the hill, though no shade other than that. This is the area where we saw the horses. We tried following along with All Trails, but the route on there did a lot of figure 8's and was hard to really comprehend. Luckily with the guidance from other hikers we were able to extend our hike out of this immediate area and make it back to the car. The trail continues out of this fenced in area with multiple different ways to go. There is some signage, though it's rather old and you can tell that some of the directional signs have fallen off. We headed down the hill, out of the gate, next to a house with a vineyard, then down into a tree covered path that went next to the mostly dried up creek. This area was nice and shaded, a little steep in some areas, but not too bad. I liked that you had a number of different routes you could take to make this hike longer or shorter depending on your adventure, but more and better signage would be a welcome addition. We parked at the trail head, it was a pretty big lot with a lot of spots. By the time we got back, it was pretty packed, but there was another area before you enter with some extra parking if this area is full. We were pretty surprised to see so many cars, as the trail didn't feel crowded and we often went long stretches without seeing anyone.

This is a great hidden spot for hiking. It's a 55-acre nature preserve in Los Altos Hills. It's…read morequiet and peaceful with a great change of scenery. If you park in the parking lot on Altamont, you see rolling hills and pasture. Once you walk into the preserve it becomes more of a wooded and shaded area. The paths are well worn and well marked. Please be careful when it rains. The path looks like mostly clay and is really slippery. Look out for horses because it's a horse path. Dogs need to be on leashes for this park.

We brought our kids to play at the magical bridge while on vacation. This was one of the best…read moreplaygrounds that we have been too. The design and layout of the playground was awesome. The magical bridge playgrounds are designed to be accessible for all kids and this was evident by the low slides, wheel chair accesible merry go round and more. We loved that there was a shady area w places to sit and tables to have a meal. The little house w the stage was also super cute.

Awesome little park that's accessible to all kids. Lots of shaded area to eat and fun playground…read moreoptions. My daughter enjoyed performing on the little stage while we ate our lunch.