AACO Spring Hike 2003
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
Sunday May 18th, 2003

[AACO-SF] [Update - see Photos of this Hike]

Join us for this spring hike at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve on Sunday, May 18th, 2003. We'll be hiking at over 2000 ft and should have a spectacular view of the bay and perhaps even the ocean if the sky is clear.  Lots of wild flowers will be blooming so bring your cameras!  The hike is about 3.5 miles long (could be extended depending on how everyone feels) with about 350 ft of elevation change, making this a relatively easy hike.  Please peruse the information on this page and rsvp as soon as you can.  There are two carpool locations for this event, please see below for details.  I need a volunteer to gather up the folks in the south bay carpool location, please let me know if you could do that in your rsvp.  Thanks!                                -Paul (650) 814-1169

rsvp (by Wed 5/14):  Paul Huang, pthuang@aol.com, or use this web form.  Please indicate how many in your party, which carpool location you will go to, your email & phone #, and any questions or comments you might have.

info: http://www.signite.com/hiking/Pages/Info/SouthSkylineRegion/051803.html


Schedule for this hike:
Since there are essentially two groups of folks, we'll have two carpool locations, one for the South Bay folks, and one for the SF/Oakland folks.  It would help the environment if we can all carpool.  But if you absolutely cannot, please meet us at the park at 9:45 AM.  Give yourself plenty of time as driving up Pagemill Road can take half hour for 10 miles, especially if you're not used to mountainous driving.

South Bay Folks:

SF/Oakland/North Bay Folks:
  • 8:30 AM.  Meet at Paul's place at 543 Somerset St, San Francisco, 94134.
  • 8:40 AM.  Leave for Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.  It'll take about 1:10 hour to get there.
  • 10:00 AM.  Start hiking
  • 1:00 PM.  Finish hiking (see trail map for details), have lunch at Alpine Pond
  • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM.  Lunch.
  • 3:00 PM.  Cars return to carpool locations.

    • Trail Information

    Location:  Intersection of Alpine Rd (Page Mill Rd) and Skyline Boulevard.
    Distance: 3.4 miles
    Elevation change: +/- 350 ft, starting elevation is about 2200 ft.
    Time: ~3 hrs, depending on breaks taken.
    Difficulty:  Easy
    Trail(s) conditions: Some have 360 degree view of the bay (Borel Hill), others have old growth oaks, earthquake fault lines, creeks, etc.  I've also seen a variety of wildlife on these trails before including deers, coyotes, hawks, newts, etc.  Click here to see the actual trails we'll hike.

    Park information: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, List of Trails
    Trail map: Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves


    Map/directions
     
    Bijan Bakery (for South Bay folks)

    The Bijan bakery is in the Saratoga Square plaza (Lions Supermarket).  It is just off 280, a few miles south of 85 and a few miles north of 17.  This is our main meeting place where carpool will be arranged. Unless indicated otherwise, please meet here.

    1. From 280 North or South, get off on Saratoga Ave, towards North (from 280 North, it would be right turn, from 280 South, it would be left turn). 
    2. Make a left on Kiely Blvd, it is about 1/4 mile from 280.
    3.  Make a left into the plaza driveway.  You'll see a store with the sign "Bakery" closest to Kiely Rd.  Burger King is across the parking lot in the same plaze.
    4.  We'll meet in front of the bakery, by some outdoor cafe tables.

    [See a picture of the store]
    Use this link to get directions from your starting point: Directions. 
    Paul's place (for SF/Oakland folks)

    For people from SF/Oakland, please meet at Paul's place, on 543 Somerset St, San Francisco, 94134.

    1. It is located just south of where 280 & 101 meet up in San Francisco.  From north (SF downtown or Oakland across the Bay Bridge), take 101 South and get off on Silver Ave.  It is right after the 280 exit.

    2. Go straight on Silver after exiting 101 and then in 4 blocks, turn left onto Somerset.  543 Somerset is about 1/4 mile on your left.

    3.There's plenty of street parking. 

    4. Use this link to get directions from your particular starting point: Directions. 
    Map to get to the park

    Russian Ridge Open Space preserve is located on the penisula, to the west of Stanford (Palo Alto), at the intersection of Page Mill Rd (which turns into Alpine Rd after crossing Skyline Blvd) and Skyline Blvd (also known as Rt 35).  From 101 South or North, exit onto Oregon Expressway (Page Mill Rd), then keep going west on Oregon Expressway till you cross 280.  From 280 S or 280 N, exit onto Page Mill Rd, and go WEST, towards the mountains.  Oregon Expressway turns into Page Mill Rd, and after crossing 280, the road becomes very curvy and is mostly uphill.  Drive carefully during this ~10 mile stretch.  It's a fun ride though!  Page Mill Rd will cross Skyline Blvd, cross Skyline and the road becomes Alpine Rd.  Russian Ridge parking lot is on your right in about 1/8 mile.  Please allow for 30 minutes driving time on Page Mill Rd alone (even though it's relatively short).  If you're planning your own itinery, figure out how long it takes you to get to 101/280 and Palo Alto, and add 30 minutes on top of that.

    Trail Map

    The trail map is shown below.  The trail we'll take is marked in red arrows, starting at the parking lot (circled in blue; blue arrows show where the cars come up).  We'll first go on Ridge Trail and stop at Borel Hill.  At 2572 ft, it's taller than Mission Peak (in Fremont) and affords a great 360 view of the bay from the penisula.  Then we'll keep going and stop at Windy Hill Vista Point for some more breath-taking views.  Then hike down into the Ancient Oaks Trail, which is fairly shady, and then back onto Ridge Trail and to the parking lot.  We'll then cross Alpine Road and have lunch at Alpine Pond, a beautiful little pond with lots of wildlife.  We may have lunch earlier depending on how the group feels.

    The total distance of the outline hike is just 3.4 miles, with a total elevation change of about 350 ft.  We can extend this distance fairly easily if the group agrees.


    Notes about this hike

    General notes about hiking trips

    Probable next hike
    TBD

    Pictures from previous hikes

    4/7/2002 [Click here to see more]

    8/5/2001 Picture is of Alpine Pond, where we'll have lunch.  [Hike was from Monte Bello]

    Pictures of other hikes [not AACO related]

    © Silicon Valley Hikers 2001 - 2003.