Open Space weekend

As the name suggests Open Space is an open space land preserved to provide people with nature enjoyment. It is made of 26 different land preserves spanning from Half Moon Bay to Morgan Hill/San Martin. Over the weekend we visited 2 of the open spaces: Rancho San Antonio and Skyline Ridge. We were glad we did as we got to add 2 more locations to our list of trails for kids.

Both these preserves have trails ranging from easy(with kids) to strenous, they have Nature Centers, where kids can enjoy some nature related activities.

Rancho San Antonio: This one is accessible from Mountain View and to our surprise was completely crowded on Saturday.It has many shaded and leveled trails for kids to enjoy. There is also a small creek (was almost dry) where kids can enjoy when it has some water.

About 1 mile walk from the parking lot is the Deer Hollow Farm Nature center which has farm animals. Its open until 4:00 p.m. during fall. Unfortunately it was closed when we reached there, however we could see some goats and sheep from outside the enclosed area.




Skyline Ridge: It is quiet a drive on Page Mill road from Palo alto, however very refreshing. You can overlook the bay from the hills and the view is breath taking.


















The David C. Daniel's nature center within 5 minutes walk from the parking lot. There is a collection of natural artifacts and hands-on activities for kids. They can easily spend 45min-1 hr at this center.

















The nature center is located on edge of Alpine pond, which is a great place to see some flora and fauna.









We were short of time and did not get to explore the trails around. There are short trails around the pond which are suitable for small kids.We even spotted a road runner and some jack rabbits near the ponds. They were too quick for a snap.