The small town of Portola Valley, nestled in the valley foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, maintains an unusual commitment to non-automotive transportation options. Pedestrian path parallel main thoroughfares around town, and a few trails take scenic routes through less populated areas. Coal Mine Ridge is owned by the Portola Ranch Homeowner's Association, and while the land is private property, trail use is permitted by town easement. Please remember to respect the property rights of the generous land owners who share their "park" with us, and do not wander off trail. Volunteers maintain this roughly oval parcel of land, with four main trails that create a series of loops through woods and oak grassland. There are no facilities, and parking can be tough. However, it's well worth overcoming any of these obstacles, for Coal Mine Ridge is one of the best places to hike on the peninsula.
     This isn't a preserve that shines only in one season. A mixed woodland harbors flowers in spring, and provides shade through the sultry days of summer. Paths are littered with fallen maple and black oak leaves in autumn. Winter rains wake up tiny dormant streams and return the green to grassland. If you like to study bay area plants, you'll find a lot to look at here, all year round.
      Start at the broad pullout on Alpine Road. Walk toward Willowbrook Drive and carefully cross the street. Alpine Trail, open to hikers and equestrians only, starts at the signed trailhead and climbs easily under the shade of California bay, buckeye, madrone, and black oak. In the understory look for currant, thimbleberry, blackberry, snowberry, and poison oak. At about 0.1 mile, Alpine Trail steps out of the shade and meets Toyon Trail at a signed junction. Turn right onto Toyon Trail.
      The narrow hiking only trail heads back into the woods. In addition to previously encountered California bay, buckeye, madrone, and black oak, coast live oaks are common, and you also might see big leaf maple (most conspicuous in autumn). Other trailside plants include gooseberry, honeysuckle, wood rose, clematis, ceanothus, California coffeeberry, and creambush. Hazelnut is abundant; look for the nuts in early summer. Late winter flowers include milkmaids, hound's tongue, and trilliums. Toyon Trail angles along the hillside at a mostly level pace, with a somewhat steep drop-off to the right permitting some sweeping views west where there are breaks in vegetation. The grassy slopes of Windy Hill are prominent, bordered to the north and south with forests of Douglas fir. Although Alpine Road is not visible, there is some attendant noise from the street and nearby houses. Rough benches, placed in intervals along the trail, provide nice places for a rest break. A rustic bridges replete with a rope handrail crosses a seasonal creek. Soon after, at about 1 mile, Toyon Trail reaches a signed junction with a trail connecting to Coal Mine Trail. Continue straight on Toyon Trail.
     The trail passes through a few open spots where you might see chamise, sagebrush, coyote brush, toyon, and monkeyflower. Shooting stars and saxifrage are conspicuous in early March, and by mid to late spring, trailside buckeyes put forth sweet-smelling blossoms. Coast live oaks tower over the trail, accompanied by madrones and a few young Douglas fir. At about 1.9 miles, you'll reach a signed junction. Turn left, "to Old Spanish Trail."
     The narrow path climbs slightly, past some cercocarpus, then squeezes through a few madrones and ducks under an old coast live oak. At about 2 miles, you'll reach a signed, multi-trail junction. The first trail clockwise to the left is Coal Mine Trail, the second and third are arms of Old Spanish Trail (the fourth trail loops around and then rejoins the junction). Continue straight on Old Spanish Trail.
     The broad trail, open to hikers and equestrians, starts a gentle descent (you might not realize that well-graded Toyon Trail gains over 300 feet in elevation). Views to the east unfold on the right side of the trail, which is lined with coyote brush, coast live oak, ceanothus, and toyon. Bright pink clarkia is a cheerful sight, blooming in late spring and early summer. Look for an out-of-place knobcone pine on the left, an anomaly in the valley oak-dotted grassland. At about 2.4 miles, Old Spanish Trail crosses a gravel service road, then reaches a signed junction. Coal Mine Trail departs to the left, heading back uphill. Turn right and remain on Old Spanish Trail.
     The trail briefly descends along the service road, then reaches another signed junction at about 2.5 miles. Bear left on Old Spanish Trail. California bay and coast live oak shelter the trail as it winds gently downhill, passing a few black oak. Stepping out into coyote brush and oak grassland, you probably will get a sense of your proximity to the trailhead, as noise from Alpine Road may be audible. At about 3 miles, Old Spanish Trail ends at a signed junction with Alpine Trail. Turn left, and almost immediately, you'll reach the previously encountered junction with Toyon Trail. Continue straight and retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Total mileage: about 3.1 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, February 24, 2004

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