A Soggy Hike at Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve

Only six of my College of San Mateo class students showed up today for a 4.5-mile rainy day walk around Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve, on the eastern Slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Covering just 366 acres, this preserve isn't big enough for a long hike, but it is quite diverse. You can explore beautiful oak woodlands and then climb up to the chaparral uplands with lots of good views. Being just east of Highway 280, it is close to civilization. Because dogs are allowed on all trails, and a 16-acre off-leash area, this is one of the most popular dog walking places on the Peninsula.

Starting at the parking lot on Edmonds Road, we headed uphill on the Blue Oaks Trail, and then headed west on the Dick Bishop Trail. Along the way we enjoyed lots of beautiful wildflowers, including, Hounds Tongue, Solomon's Seal, Indian Warrior, Indian Paintbrush, Creambush, Wake Robin, and Shooting Star. Because this preserve is on the dry eastern flanks of the Santa Cruz Mountains it is at its flowery best from about mid-March through April. I found a skink under a log. They are usually hard to catch, but the cool moist weather left this one sleepy enough for me to pick up and show around.

From the Dick Bishop Trail we followed the Hassler Trail uphill and then turned off at the Dusky-footed Woodrat Trail, which swings through the chaparral part of the preserve. We saw lots of woodrat nests along the way that look like piles of sticks. By this time the gentle showers which hardly bothered us at all had turned into a steady rain. We stopped to admire some beautiful Solomon's Seal in bloom and the smooth reddish-brown Manzanita trunks that seem supersaturated with color when they are wet. However, by this time it was decided that everyone was getting too wet to linger, so we picked up the pace in order to get back to the parking lot in time for lunch.

We returned via the Cordilleras Trail to the parking lot at about 12:30pm.

TO GET THERE... From Highway 280 take Edgewood Road east. Then turn left (north) on Crestview Drive and then an immediate left turn on Edmonds Road. There is a parking lot and outhouse at the trail head.