Posted today at mercurynews.com: Created by an act of the Legislature in 1872, the park is tucked into a canyon on San Jose’s eastern edge. Trails to the top of the canyon walls offer impressive views of civilization to the…
Santa Clara County parks
Latest Hikes column: Mount Madonna County Park
by tmangan • November 1, 2007 • 0 Comments
Familiar territory for Two-Heel Drive regulars: Mount Madonna County Park has the ruins of a pioneering California land baron, as well as a herd of snow-white European deer that were the gift of a pioneering California press baron. It also…
An Alum Rock outing
by tmangan • October 22, 2007 • 4 Comments
Now and again I have to remind myself there’s actual hiking with hills and woods available within the San Jose city limits. The city has a few trails for walking, jogging and biking, but the vibe’s more suburban than backcountry…
A fresh look at Mount Madonna County Park
by tmangan • October 15, 2007 • 5 Comments
Mount Madonna has over a hundred campsites and the ruins of a mansion built by a guy who owned nearly 2 million acres of California ranch land. It has 20 miles of trails but they’re not the main attraction. I…
Latest Hikes column: Hidden Villa
by tmangan • September 22, 2007 • 1 Comment
Forgot to post this the other day. Hidden Villa near Los Altos Hills was the latest victim: You may forget you came here to hike. On the way to the trails at Hidden Villa, you’re apt to pass pigs, cows,…
Some pix from Uvas Canyon
by tmangan • September 16, 2007 • 1 Comment
Melissa and I stopped by Uvas Canyon County Park for a few hours on Sunday. I wanted to see if there was any water in the waterfalls. There was, but not much. The pix: A bridge near the beginning of…
Quick stop at Hidden Villa
by tmangan • September 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
Hidden Villa has eight miles of well-maintained single-track trails snaking through its 1,800 acres, but the farm is really the main attraction. It has pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cows — just add kids singing “ee-eye-ee-eye-oh” and the picture’s complete. I…
Four wide open space preserves
by tmangan • July 22, 2007 • 5 Comments
I couldn’t tell what the four guys in the big red fire truck from the California Department of Forestry were up to. Didn’t smell smoke, though, so I figured it must’ve been a Sunday training hike. About six steps into…
Latest Hikes column: Sanborn-Skyline County Park
by tmangan • July 19, 2007 • 0 Comments
From my Hikes column at the Mercury News. Early birds get the trails to themselves at Sanborn-Skyline, the popular Santa Clara County park just west of Saratoga. While the early hikers get the best rewards at pretty much any park,…