A Wildflowery Loop Through Stevens Creek County Park & Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

My De Anza College class lucked out with the weather for our field trip yesterday at Stevens Creek County Park and adjoining Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. The rain ended just in time as we gathered at the Stevens Creek County Park parking lot just off Stevens Canyon Road near Cupertino. There is a parking fee.

From the parking lot we began our 6.6 mile hike by walking the paved road to the gate that begins the Stevens Creek/Tony Look Trail. This route takes you past the dam, which was built in 1935 to create the 80 acre Stevens Creek Reservoir. This route took us beyond the reservoir to our lunch stop at a picnic area with two picnic tables and a restroom. Along the way we saw lots of wildflowers, including blue larkspur, vetch, globe gilia, lupine, Douglas iris, blue elderberry, climati

s, star lilly, golden yarrow, poppies, yerba santa, Indian paintbrush, Solomons seal, sticky monkey flower, and checker lilly. There is also lots of maidenhair and gold back ferns and flowering poison oak.

After lunch we charged uphill for the most strenuous part of the route, which took us into Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. From there we left the forest behind and hiked the Vista Loop Trail to the Fern Trail and on to the Coyote Ridge Trail, with spectacular views of the Santa Clara Valley, including the new Apple "spaceship" campus. The Coyote Ridge Trail took us downhill and back into Stevens Creek County Park.

Spring is the perfect time to do this hike. It can be dry and hot during the summer.

TO GET THERE... From Highway 280 take Foothill Boulevard south. It turns into Stevens Canyon Road. Look for the park entrance sign on the left.