Mountain bikers Storie and John Jackson take a water break along Priest Rock Trail.
Many people love the hip charm of Los Gatos's downtown and its beautiful neighborhoods, but fewer may know of another side to love: its wild backcountry.
Ten thousand acres of preserves and parks circle Lexington Reservoir and extend into Saratoga, cleared with 60 miles of trails. Forays into these lands reward you with sights like soaring red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, brush rabbits, fern-draped canyons studded with redwoods, oak and bay laurel woodland, and chaparral stirring with life.
With spring starting this week, it's a particularly pleasant time to venture out. Creeks and their tributaries are running strong. There are fresh new leaves on trees, fragrant blooming shrubs, abundant wildflowers and mild temperatures.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District owns the bulk of this public land. Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, above Lexington Reservoir, is about 4,000 acres, with an additional 7,000 acres on and around Mt. Umunhum. El Sereno Open Space Preserve, a primitive preserve at the end of Montevina Road, covers more than 1,000 acres. St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve is 270 acres. The open-space district's preserves are open to hikers, bikers and dogs on leashes. Some trails are open to horses.
Dogs and bicycles are not allowed at local Santa Clara County parks, but there's plenty of hiking territory. Lexington County Park, bordering portions of the reservoir, is 1,000 acres. Sanborn-Skyline County Park, extending from Black Road in Los Gatos to Highway 9 in Saratoga, is 3,700 acres. Villa Montalvo has 175 acres of wilderness.
The four-mile Limekiln Canyon- Priest Rock Trail Loop is a fabulous hike into the Sierra Azul preserve. To find the trailhead, take Highway 17 southbound and go left onto Alma Bridge Road. Look for the first green gate on the left, just past the second bridge. There's parking on the side of the road.
When open-space district guide Judy Fenerty and I hiked the Limekiln Trail, we saw small waterfalls through the brush. Where spring water trickles down the rocky trailside walls, ferns, grasses and bright green moss thrive. The season's first wildflowers, Indian warriors and milkmaids, are in bloom.
The trail climbs steadily for about a third of a mile, until you come to a lovely series of waterfalls off to the right. The trail levels and then begins its steady ascent again up the canyonside, until the rushing creek becomes a faraway sound. The quarry comes into full view at this elevation.
This trail is popular with mountain bikers. One biker we encountered slowly pedaling up a steep section said, "It's hard, but great exercise." The only hikers we encountered--a couple--described the trail as "intense."
The Limekiln Trail is shaded by trees. At the summit, about two miles from the trailhead, you'll arrive at a junction called "the four-way" by denizens. There are spectacular views from here, and, as Fenerty said, it's like being on top of the world. To start your return trip, take a right at this junction onto Priest Rock Trail. The trail is clearly marked.
It's all downhill from here, and the land changes primarily to dry chaparral, which provides great cover for animals. A biker riding past told us there was a bobcat around the corner, but it vanished before we arrived. Look for the craggy rock outcrop called Priest Rock on your right about a half-mile from the junction.
A mile down Priest Rock Trail, you'll see Lexington Reservoir sparkling below. In another half-mile, the trail ends on Alma Bridge Road. Turn right and walk a quarter-mile on Alma Bridge, back to the Limekiln Canyon trailhead where you started.
Nearby on Alma Bridge Road is the three-mile St. Joseph's Hill Loop, popular with bikers, hikers and joggers.
The trailhead for St Joseph's is just across the street from the parking lot for the Lexington County Park boat launch. As you head up, look for the fragrant, blooming white ceonothus shrubs.
In a half-mile or so, there's a junction. Follow the signs to St. Joseph's Hill. Soon you'll see a wire fence on the left, which divides the preserve from Novitiate property. Trailside wildflowers include yellow mission bells, buttercups, and purple houndstongue, named for the shape of its big leaves.
When you arrive at a three-way junction, stay on the middle trail, which gradually circles to the top. The trail on the left dead-ends, and the one to the right is a shorter, steeper route to the hilltop. Along the trail, you'll see the gnarled remains of an old Novitiate vineyard. On top, views spread out from all sides.
To return, follow the trail signs to Alma Bridge Road.
Across Highway 17, at the end of four-mile Montevina Road, is the entrance to El Sereno Open Space Preserve. Here you can hike three miles to a gorgeous meadow with spectacular valley views. One caveat: While it's an easy downhill walk or bike trip to the meadow, it's a long steady climb back. If you're up for it, you'll be rewarded with an isolated wilderness setting unlike any of the other areas. For those less enthused about a long hike, there is a shorter version that still has beautiful views of the valley, and the sight of Monterey Bay glistening in the distance.
At the end of Montevina Road, there's room for about five cars. There is concern in the neighborhood about city traffic; courteous driving and parking in the area is appreciated by locals.
After a quarter-mile on the El Sereno Ridge Trail there's a three-way junction. My companion and I took a right here on our mountain bikes and rode along rolling terrain through lovely oak, madrone and bay laurel groves, separated by chaparral. In shady spots, ferns and moss grow.
Several dramatic valley views await as you round the corners. In a mile or so the pristine, tree-filled Trout Canyon comes into view. At this point you can break to enjoy the view, then turn back, noticing the Monterey Peninsula and bay in the distance.
To continue to the meadows, stay on the trail, which you see cutting across the mountainside below on the left. After about a mile and a half, you'll come to the meadows. Return by the same route.
The two-mile round-trip Lake Ranch Reservoir Hike is a hidden jewel, a shady walk to a scenic lake in Sanborn-Skyline Park. This trailhead is four miles up Black Road from Highway 17. Park where you see a green gate and park signs, staying clear of the gate itself. There is also parking in nearby turnouts.
The sound of running water is never far away as you walk along this trail. Soon, you'll enter into a spectacular redwood canyon with a small waterfall at its head. As we were walking, my companion and I heard twigs breaking, and while we paused to peer into the woods, two deer carefully walked away.
The trail continues winding through the woods and then arrives at Lake Ranch Reservoir, once an important water source for San Jose and still used by the water department.
At the north end, under shaded picnic tables, you can watch the coots making their clumsy water landings, cormorants drying their wings in the sun and a variety of ducks, depending on the season, placidly paddling the waters. In the evening, tree frogs begin their chorus. Blue gillfish and bass, stocked years ago, still thrive.
Follow the trail back to your car.
Another gem is the Summit Rock Hike. It's only a quarter-mile from the road and yet, as Mike Bacon, a Sanborn-Skyline park ranger, said, "You really feel like you're in the wilderness." From the corner of highways 9 and 35, go south onto Highway 35. The Summit Rock parking lot, one mile south, is clearly marked.
Hiking in, you'll pass through oak and fir woodlands, with an underlayer of wild blackberry and toyon. Red Bell, another Sanborn-Skyline ranger who knows the land well, pointed to lichen growing on the trees, and said, "When you see lichen, you know you're in pure air. It won't grow in the city."
Once you reach Summit Rock, there are several ways to climb it. The only caution the rangers have is to respect it: There have been a few serious accidents. From the top, Bacon pointed out the San Andreas Fault, marked by a straight, V-shaped canyon cutting like a knife through the land below. Summit Rock offers views of nearby mountains, local vineyards and the city below. Sanborn-Skyline Park has 15 miles of well-tended trails through a variety of terrain, overnight camping, RV hookups and picnic grounds.
Villa Montalvo offers delightful trails along Wildcat Creek that cut through an old orchard, through redwood forest and up into chaparral to Lookout Point. Park Ranger Ted Bertron says Villa Montalvo trails are "short and sweet": You can take your kids hiking, and they won't get tired out. In about two and a half hours, Bertron and I hiked the Orchard Trail, the Creek Trail, the Redwood Trail, the Nature Trail and Lookout Trail. That's an average of 30 minutes per hike. The Villa Montalvo wilderness area, front lawn and gardens are county parkland, while buildings and adjacent gardens are run by a nonprofit group.
A must-see at Villa Montalvo is the exquisite garden around the large lawn. Numerous exotic plants are clearly marked. Behind the black iron fence are newly planted rose bushes, a blooming magnolia, bulb flowers, a cactus garden and exotic trees. It's like a small version of the gardens in Golden Gate Park.
Regarding safety on the trails, rangers urge hikers always to carry water. Its importance was made clear last summer, when rangers had to rescue a hiker on Priest Rock who was suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. Rangers do enforce the helmet requirement where mountain bikes are allowed.
For more information or maps, call:
* Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District--415/691-1200;
* Sanborn-Skyline County Park--867-4642
* Lexington and Villa Montalvo county parks--867-0190
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, March 20, 1996.
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