Bay Area Hiker_ Edgewood Park and Preserve

7/29/2019 Bay Area Hiker_ Edgewood Park and Preserve

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6/12 Bay Area Hiker: Edgewood Park and Preserve

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Edgewood Park and Preserve,

County of San Mateo,

San Mateo County In brief :

4.2 mile loop at a cherished preserve with an

interesting mix of vegetation and pretty trails.

Distance, category, and difficulty:

This 4.2 mile loop hike is easy, with about

500 feet in elevation change. Edgewood's

elevation ranges from about 225 feet to 820

feet. Trails are well-graded.

Exposu re:

Mix of shade and sun.

Trail traffic:

Moderate.

Trail surfaces:

Dirt trails.

Hiki ng time:

2 hours.

Season:

Nice any time, but exceptional in spring.

Getting there:

From Interstate 280 in San Mateo County exit

Edgewood Road, then d rive east on

Edgewood for about 1 mile. The entrance is

on the s outh (right) side of the road, just past

Edmonds Road.

Get driving or public transit d irections from

Transit and Trails:

http://www.transitandtrails.org/trailheads/129

GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead :

Latitude 37°28'23.21"N

Longitude 122°16'41.42"W

(* based on Google Earth data, shown as

degrees, minutes, seconds)

Gas, food, and lo dging :

No services in the immediate area. No

camping in the park.

Trailhead details:

There's a paved parking lot as s oon as you

turn off Edgewood, and a smaller paved lot

inside the gate, with room for 13 cars. There

is one des ignated handicapped parking

space, an d the trails are wheelchair

accessible as far as the p icnic area. No

entrance or parking fees. An information

board o n the wes t side o f the inner lot has

maps. Restrooms are located near the picnic

area, south of the p arking lot. There are threeother (minor) trailheads: at the junction of

Edgewood and Cañada Roads, at the

junction of Sunset and Hillcrest W ays , and

on Cañada Road just s outh of where Cañada

Road crosses u nder 280, at the southwestern

corner of the preserve. These trailheads offer

access to the Crystal Springs Trail and the

western portion of Edgewood. There is no

direct public transp ortation to t he park.

Rules:

Sylvan Loop is designated h iking only, and

all other trails are open to equ estrians and

hikers. No bikes. No dog s (a good alternative

is Pulgas Open Space Preserve). Park hours

vary seasonally. Gates open at 8 a.m. and

close around dusk.

Edgewood is a small block of land in Redwood City, bumping

up against Interstate 280 to the west, and a residential

neighborhood to the east. Now a nature preserve and park,

Edgewood was protected from development by the County of San

Mateo in 1993. The preserve is frequently crowded with joggers

and picnickers, and it's tough to achieve any sense of quiet nature

with the almost constant sounds of highway traffic, the shriek of

airplanes flying at low altitude, and the everyday buzz of chainsaws

and dogs barking at the nearby houses. Still, this preserve is a

short drive from San Francisco and peninsula communities, there

are quiet places to be found, and the well-maintained, easy-to-hike

trails make it a worthwhile escape destination for short hikes.

Sylvan Trail gets the most use in this preserve -- it's a 2.5 mi

hiking-only loop that winds gently through a coast live oak and

California bay woodland, ascending to an open grassland platea

and then descending back down to the picnic area. This loop ha

mileage markers every half mile and is well graded, so it is an

excellent exercise path, and an easy trail if you are feeling out-ofshape.

Several loops are possible, and you can vary your hikes by

entering the preserve via the one major trailhead or any of the

three other small staging areas. Combine legs of Serpentine Loo

Ridgewood Loop, and/or Sylvan Loop for a hike from 2 to 4

miles.

Edgewood's western section, along 280, is mostly grassland.

There are pockets of chaparral along Clarkia Trail, Sylvan Loop, and Ridgewood Loop, but most of Sylvan is shaded b

coast live oaks and California bays. All this variety translates into a

paradise for wildflower lovers in spring, when you'll see different

blossoms in the woods, serpentine grassland, and chaparral. Late

summer is also lovely, thanks to the preserve's copious amounts of

poison oak, which turn flame red along the trails. Winter is often a

muddy time to visit.For a just over 4-mile circuit of the preserve, walk from the

parking lot south towards the picnic area, following the signs

for Sylvan Trail. As the path rises slightly, you'll reach a signed T

junction at about 200 feet (the path to the right heads towards the

picnic areas, and the restrooms). Turn left on Sylvan Trail.

Keep an eye out for the many runners who uses this trail, but

cyclists and equestrians are prohibited. In late winter, blossoms from flowering plum trees litter the trail like confetti. La

in summer, the preserve's wild animals feast on the ripe fruit, and you might notice scat studded with plum pits. On one

July hike I got a glimpse of a young coyote just off the path here

Sylvan is mostly shaded from coast live oaks and California bay

with a few madrones and buckeyes. Honeysuckle vines dangle

from the trees, bearing red berries in late summer and early

autumn. At 0.17 mile, Sylvan Trail splits at an undersigned

junction. Bear left.

In early spring, you may see woodland star, fat solomon,

snakeroot, mission bells, and figwort. Hound's tongue, a prolific

flower in late winter, may already be dangling seeds for next yea

plants. After winter rains, there are two lovely small waterfalls, a

the sound of running water will keep you company as you ascen

along the trail, which is likely to be muddy. Maidenhair fern and

creambush are common along the wettest sections of Sylvan Tra

but you'll pass through patches of chaparral as you gain elevation, where you might see monkeyflower, bush lupine,

chamise, poison oak, clematis, blue elderberry, coyote brush,

sagebrush, hollyleaf cherry, and toyon. At 0.54 mile a closed trail

spur breaks off from the left side of the trail. Continue to the right.

In the dr months of summer red-leaved oison oak shrubs





.

The Official Story:

CSMPD's Edgewood page

Park o ffice 650-368-6283

Map & book choices/More information:

• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map

to get there.

• Map from CSMPD

• 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San

Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup, that's me, the

creator of this website) has a simple map and

a featured hike. Order this book from

Amazon.com.

• Afoot and Afield: San Franc isco Bay Area ,

by David Weintraub (order this book from

Amazon.com) has a g reat map and

descriptions of an Edgewood hike.

• The Trail Center's Trail Map of the Central

Penin sula is my favorite map of the park

(order this map from Amazon.com)

• Peninsula Trai ls, by Jean Rusmore, has a

simple map, preserve descriptions, and

suggested hikes (order this book from

Amazon.com).

• Tom Taber's The Santa Cruz Mountains

Trail Book has a simple map and preserve

description (order this book from

Amazon.com).

• Friends of Edgewood website.

Edgewood in a nu tshell -- a printable,

text-only guide to the featured hike.

Photos:

• View photos from this hike (shorter 2.91 mile

Sylvan Loop)

• View photos from this hike (longer 4.16 mile

Sylvan and Serpentine Loop)

• View a few springtime photos of the park

dominate the landscape; those "leaves of three" mingle with dry

downed buckeye leaves, in sharp contrast to the lush green

trailside vegetation of late winter and spring. As Sylvan Trail enters

grassland, in early spring you might see dramatic stands of red

Indian warrior, and the delicate purplish-blue blossoms of blue-

eyed grass and bluedicks. California sagebrush and sticky

monkeyflower grow here and there. Coast live oaks thin a bit,

making room for some madrone, and a handful of white and blue

oaks. Just past the 1 mile marker you'll reach a signed junction

with Serpentine Loop Trail. Continue straight on Serpentine Loop Trail. (Option: you can shorten this hike to abou

3 miles by turning right on Serpentine Loop Trail. The narrow traopen to hikers and equestrians only, steps under shade created b

tall California bays, then reemerges in grassland. At 1.43 miles,

turn right onto the service road and continue the featured hike).

Open to hikers and equestrians, Serpentine Loop Trail

switchbacks up a grassy hillside. Take a moment to enjoy views

north, past Edgewood's softly rolling hills to Pulgas, and east,

where you should be able to pick out the shoreline of Bair Island

At a signed junction at 1.39 miles, Live Oak Trail heads off to th

right. Continue straight on Serpentine Loop Trail.

Fences protect the habitat along the trails, including the hillsid

to the right, which is scored with unsanctioned paths. When I

hiked here in July I flushed a hawk off of a boulder and then, a

moment later, scared away two deer. On more than one occasion in this section of the park I have watched a huge

jackrabbit bound off into the grassland. Look to the left for good displays of fragrant fritillary in March. The trail winds

slightly uphill to a signed junction at 1.55 miles. Turn right and

remain on Serpentine Loop Trail.

In spring, the sides of the trail are carpeted with native

wildflowers that thrive in the serpentine soil. You might see owl's

clover, blue-eyed grass, bluedicks, goldenfields, creamcups,

tidytips, larkspur, checker-bloom, and many more. This is one of

the best, and most accessible locations for wildflowers in the bay

area, and is also home to endangered butterflies. Serpentine Loop

Trail gently descends to the west, with nice views to the forested

slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. At 1.77 miles, a connector to

Clarkia Trail sets off to the left at a signed junction. Turn right on

Serpentine Loop Trail.

The trail skirts the chaparral-studded slopes of Edgewood's

highest hill. Sporadic clumps of coyote brush, California coffeeberry, poison oak, toyon, and gooseberry line Serpentin

Loop Trail. Park staff has been mowing the grassland, an attempt to contain a yellow star thistle invasion, and several

interpretive signs explain the project. Traffic noise from Interstate 280 is unavoidable, and as you head north vehicles ar

visible as well. At 2.38 miles, you'll reach a signed junction and

information kiosk. The trail to the left leaves the park and passes

under the highway, leading to Edgewood Road (and continuing t

Cañada Road). Continue straight on Serpentine Loop Trail

Two junctions are reached in quick succession. The first, at

2.43 miles, heads uphill to the right to Ridgeview Trail. Next

comes Edgewood Trail, to the left at 2.57 miles. Continue

straight on Serpentine Loop Trail at both junctions .

The wide trail curves east and climbs gently, reaching a flat

grassland plateau. At 2.83 miles, Serpentine Loop Trail veers rigat a signed junction with the Service Road (identified as Old Sta

Road on some maps). Bear left onto the Service Road.

The broad dirt trail is open to hikers and equestrians only. In

spring, the grassland is full of blooming wildflowers, including pink farewell-to-spring, yellow California buttercups,

suncups, and goldenfields, white popcorn flower, and orange California poppy. The Service Road heads downhill to th

north, offering views to Pulgas Ridge. A sign encourages you to stay on the trail. At 3.12 miles, turn right at an

unmarked junction (there's a post but no trail signs).

The narrow path winds along the edge of the meadow, past a

large rock outcrop, and joins Sylvan Trail at 3.34 miles. Take

Sylvan Trail left (east) towards the parking lot.

Like the other leg of the loop, Sylvan Trail is open to hikers

only. A gradual descent on switchbacks takes you back into the

woods, mostly California bay and coast live oaks, with some

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