 Ed R. Levin County Park is a 1,558 acre county park in Milpitas that combines elements of an urban park with a wilderness area open space park. I made a maiden voyage to this park with my daughter yesterday afternoon. Although the hike that we did around the perimeter of Sandy Wool Lake was appropriate for the littlest hikers, there is a lot more to explore. Indeed, there is the best of both worlds in this park: my daughter has already told me that she can't wait to come back here "when the virus is over" so that she can play on the very cool looking playground structure, and there are two trails in Ed Levin that connect into Mission Peak Regional Park for a longer hike (see here). Seems like we will definitely be heading back.
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 The last time I went to Uvas Canyon County Park was in the spring when the waterfalls were at their peak. In late summer, there is less water in the falls, but it is still really lovely and it is way less crowded. Although this hike is very short in terms of distance, there is plenty of elevation change, so it feels harder that it should--especially if you are carrying a toddler in a carrying pack! Nonetheless, this was a great hike for bringing our daughter, and we saw lots of other families too with little ones. Definitely a great place to bring children of all ages.
 Photo credit: Will Dawkins I am featuring a guest photographer for this blog post: my brother, Will, who joined me on my hike at Almaden Quicksilver County Park in Santa Clara County south of downtown San Jose. Click "read more" to see his photos!
 Sanborn County Park is near the charming town of Saratoga, off of Highway 9 (the road to Big Basin). It may be the quickest way for the majority of Silicon Valley residents to get to the redwoods; however, its location on Highway 9 probably means that many people are planning to bypass it for the famous state park. The park today was really quiet except for a group of very happy school children enjoying summer camp at the Youth Science Institute.
 Sierra Azul is the largest preserve in the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). Here is the blurb on the park from their website: Just south of the Town of Los Gatos, on the east side of the Lexington Reservoir, sits Sierra Azul, the District's southernmost open space preserve. Translated Sierra Azul means "Blue Range." Encompassing more than 18,000 acres, this is the District's largest Preserve. Sierra Azul Preserve is a true wilderness area, yet surprisingly close to the urban areas of the South Bay, making it a popular destination. Because of its size, Sierra Azul is divided into four areas: Kennedy-Limekiln, Mount Umunhum, Cathedral Oaks, and Rancho do Guadalupe. Today, I visited the Kennedy-Limekiln area for the first time. I took a loop that is just over 5 miles, and I was treated to a bay laurel forest, a mixed forest of oak and madrone, a chaparral ecosystem with manzanita and chamise (and 360-degree views of mountains), eucalyptus trees, and views of the Lexington Reservoir.
 Baylands Park is a city park run by the town of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County. The park is really geared more towards families who want to picnic and to let their kids play on nice play structures; however, there is a nice one-mile hike through a seasonal marsh.
 I really enjoyed my hike today at St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve near Los Gatos. The preserve is contiguous with both Lexington Reservoir County Park and Novitiate Park, a Los Gatos city park. I was able to access the trailhead by parking at Lexington Reservoir boat launch (there is a small vehicle fee). Once I climbed to the summit of St. Joseph's hill (1,253'), I could see fantastic vistas of Mount Sereno (to the north), the Santa Clara Valley (to the east), distant mountains in the Diablo range (further east), the Sierra Azul range (to the south). and the reservoir (to the west).
 Alviso Marina County Park is one of the key gateways to Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge; specifically, it is near the Environmental Education Center in Alviso. The refuge is very large (30,000 acres) and has several access points; I liked this one a lot--much better than Ravenswood and as much as Coyote Hills. The birds here were TRULY spectacular. This is a birder's paradise!
 Calero County Park is part of the Santa Clara County Park System. I did not hike at this park, but rather just enjoyed a Mother's Day picnic at one of the picnic areas near the boat launch. The wild mustard was blooming in abundance, and that along with the cool breeze off of the water and the gorgeous views of Mount Umunhum in the distance made for a very pleasant picnic!
Here is what the Santa Clara Parks Office has to say about this park: this approximate 4,471 acre park is nestled in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Two distinct areas define this park: the reservoir, which offers a host of water-oriented recreational activities, and the adjoining "back country" which reveals to the visitor California Oak woodland, chaparral, riparian plant communities and associated wildlife habitats. During the months of March, April and May the "back country" offers a spectacular display of wildflowers... The back country offers 18.9 miles of trails available to hikers and equestrians. The park is near both Rancho Cañada del Oro and Almaden-Quicksilver County Park--there are a lot of reasons to go back here to visit! I can't wait to explore more of the back country area in this park. |
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