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Enjoy this 7.3-mile loop trail near Los Altos, California. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 3 h 37 min to complete. This is a very popular area for birding, hiking, and running, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. You'll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren't allowed on this trail. Counting bridges on Los Trancos Trail - Foothill Park, in Palo Alto, opened up to the public in mid December of 2020. Prior to that, only Palo Alto residents had exclusive access to it. Los Trancos trail is the longest one in the park and has something for everyone - beautiful views, long climbs and a flowing brook. The trail is shaded most of the way and is green almost any time of the year. Plan ahead and pack a picnic lunch which you can enjoy by the lake in the park, post-hike. Closest parking to the trailhead is at the Foothill Park Nature Interpretive Center inside the park. From the entrance gate, drive about 1.5 miles, past the small lake, until you see a large meadow on the left and the Interpretive Center on the right. The trail starts right in front of the Interpretive Center, across the meadow. You encounter a number of bridges on this trail, the first of which is at the start of the trailhead. Add some fun to your hike by counting the number of bridges you cross along the route.
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The first half a mile of the trail is a real butt-kicker as the path climbs uphill with numerous switchbacks. When you reach the top of the hill, the ascent becomes more gradual with gorgeous views of Palo Alto and the Open Reserve surrounding this park. The trail soon starts climbing uphill once again, and gets your heart pumping before joining Fern Loop Trail and flattening out. Fren Loop Trail will intersect a fire road which will take you back to your car at the Interpretive Center. This is an excellent hike for a hot summer's day.
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Palo Alto Foothills Park - Bounded by Portola Valley, Los Altos Hills, Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, the 1,400-acre Palo Alto Foothills Park boasts over 15 miles of trails. The park contains rugged chaparral, woodlands, fields, streams, and a lake, and provides spectacular views of the Bay Area. Wildlife abounds, and it is common to see deer and coyotes, and even a bobcat. Because of the "access restrictions" of the park, the trails are narrower and less disturbed than most other Bay Area parks. Even though you are never more than a few miles from a main road, the trails feel mysterious and remote. Unfortunately, Foothills Park is officially off-limits to anyone that is not a Palo Alto resident or their accompanied guest. Why would they make this rule? In 1959 the City of Palo Alto was looking to purchase the land and asked the cities of Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills to chip in. They refused, and the city of Palo Alto footed the entire $1.3M bill. Because of this, the City of Palo Alto restricted the use of the park to Palo Alto residents only. Fortunately, however, there is one exception to the Palo Alto residency rule, which can be found on the park's Rules and Regulations page: "...Non-resident hikers (and hikers only) may enter from Pearson Arastradero Preserve or from Los Trancos Open Space Preserve as part of the Bay to Ridge Trail..." When they say "hikers" we assume they also mean "trail runners." So, if you are not a Palo Alto Resident but want to check out Foothills Park, the easiest way is to park at Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and hike/run through to Foothills Park, a distance of about 2 miles one way.
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