Have long eyed the Castle Rock State Park and glad we finally went! The park charges a nominal…read moreparking fee ($10 at time of writing); the parking fee is waived if you have one of the supported passes. Check their site for more info: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=538# We really enjoyed our hike here. The space is beautiful, and the trails are well-maintained. The trailhead had plenty restrooms as well. We made it up to Goat Rock Lookout, back down, then detour to the waterfall. It took ~1.5 hours in total, which was perfect for a end-of-day hike before the park closes at sunset. The view up at Goat Rock Lookout was breathtaking!

If you're looking for another place that has breathtaking views surrounding the whole Santa Cruz…read moreMountains (but don't want to go all the way to Portola Valley), Castle Rock State Park is the place for you. This place is usually my go to when the weather is just perfect and you want good views of the mountains viewing the Monterey Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. In addition, the park is even open during the cold winter season, where it occasionally will snow (because of how high the elevation is, the main base is situated at about 3,200 feet above sea level). This place has been my go-to park for hiking for a while, because of its terrain. At the same time, it's also been because of how much snow they get when cold fronts come into effect. They are also open year-round, so definitely swing by this state park when you do get the chance to! It's a decision you'll never regret.

I've done over half a dozen hikes here, including the treacherous black mountain trail, and I think…read morethis is one of the best hiking areas near Cupertino! Rancho San Antonio offers hikes for just about every level, and all of the trails are well maintained. Some of the higher elevation trails like the PG&E trail offer great views of Silicon Valley. Wildlife like turkeys can be seen along the trails.

First things first, if you don't come here early, expect to circle the numerous parking lots many,…read moremany times. The first time I came here years ago, couldn't find a spot so we left, then came back another time and lucked out. Most recently we spent about 30 minutes circling and going back and forth between all the lots before we finally got a spot. We considered leaving, but every time we tried to sit and look at a map to find somewhere else to go, a car would come up behind us and we'd have to move. So if you aren't a patient person, come early, or don't come. After our parking search nightmare was over, we were finally able to enjoy the beautiful trails and lovely farm. It was truly amazing how empty the trails felt with how many people and cars were there. We did the deer hollow loop trail which included the coyote trail, and we only came across a handful of other groups until we got to the farm. They have maps at the trial head, and many trails to choose from, so grab a map if you haven't been. The maps are small so it's kind of hard to tell where you are, but luckily the trail posts are numbered, so you can reference them on the map as your winding your way on the trails. We were pleasantly surprised by how many animals there were on the farm! There were goats, pigs, sheep, cows, ducks, geese, and chickens. It was fun to explore and watch all the animals grazing and roaming their pens. The farm is a decent trek from the parking lot, even though it is flat and there are paved areas you can walk, it does take some time to get back out from it.

Pretty nice day hike with many views. Unless you want extra challenge, I'd recommend just turning…read morearound at the top of the pg and e trail, the extra 2 miles doesn't add much.

This trail is challenging. Proceed only if you can handle elevation of uphill all the way for the…read morefirst appro. 1 mile. We started off at rhus ridge trailhead. Trail was steep and mostly in shade. Nice valley view along the way to look at and you can see the bay afar. Very quiet and unpopular trail. At many points, you'd feel there's only you and your companion in the whole mountain. There's a warning sign of mountain lion but we didn't see any, not that I wanted to. :) Recommend to use hiking stick. It'd take about 4 hours to complete the whole trail. If you walk slower it'd be longer.

Was looking for a simple trail to walk with my parents when I found Stevens Creek on All Trails…read more Went on a Saturday around 10am and it was pretty busy. It's an out and back trail - we started near Cooper Park, walked about 2 miles and then turned back. Trail is well maintained, but it felt a bit crowded at times as with all the pedestrians and cyclists. It was somewhat shaded, but the portion we walked did not have much of a view. The bridges also pass over highways and busy roads so it didn't really feel like we were in nature. Overall, Stevens Creek is an easy and conveniently located trail, but fairly average in terms of scenery. I would consider coming back on a weekday if I am looking for a relaxed stroll

Easy trail with flat paved path. It leads to bridges that go over Central Expressway and 85…read more It's a nice trail to hike even in the Summer as there are a lot of sections with trees that shade the path. Lots of bike and ebike riders.

It's just beautiful here to enjoy water activities they have or just sit on grass to have a picnicread more

We hosted a team spring event here and it was a perfect venue for a lovely fun filled time…read more The event manager Christina was super helpful in helping us select the food options and activity packages. Julian and other staff were super helpful during the event even though there were other 2 big events going on at the same time. The team participated in various water sport including paddle boat, row boat, sail boat and kayak.

"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.

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.

I love this place. This place or the location perplexes me. The reason why is technically it is…read morelocated in Los Altos Hills, but years ago, and probably still is run by Palo Alto/ Now it's a bit more open to people, but it always made me wonder what this is about? With so many places to walk around and hike, take pictures, hang out, play frisbee, or what have you. Years ago, I used to come out here with a good friend, and we played frisbee and hung out numerous times with other friends and family. If you would like a great escape from this world...here you go. :-)

If you enjoy hiking or taking leisurely walks, you must visit this park nestled in the foothill…read morearea of Palo Alto. We discovered it one afternoon when we wanted to take a stroll after lunch, arriving around 2 pm PST. The park has an entrance fee of $6. It offers a variety of activities such as fishing, picnicking with BBQ areas, walking, biking, and even camping. The park is quite expansive, featuring many flat areas and opportunities to spot wildlife. Although there is plenty of parking available in different sections of the park, finding a spot might be challenging during busy times. This park is a good place if you want be in quite place , me time and enjoy nature. You can also drive around the park to explore its different sections. I plan to visit again in the morning, bring lunch, and walk around to fully enjoy all the areas this park has to offer.