Sanborn-Skyline
County Park,
Santa Clara County Parks,
Santa Clara County
In brief:
6 mile out and back hike through redwoods on the high eastern flanks of the Santa
Cruz Mountains.
Getting there:
From Interstate 280 in Santa Clara County, exit #7 Saratoga Avenue. Drive west
on Saratoga Avenue, then in Saratoga, pick up CA 9 (Big Basin Way) heading west.
At the junction with CA 35 at Saratoga Gap, turn left (south). Drive about 4.5
miles south on Skyline Boulevard (CA 35) to the unsigned Sunnyvale Mountain trailhead
on the left side of the road (an emergency callbox stands at the driveway to the
parking lot).
Trailhead details:
Small parking lot with room for about 6 vehicles. No parking or entrance fees
(although entrance fees are collected at the park's main entrance). No toilets
or drinking water. There's an emergency callbox on Skyline Boulevard, but the
closest public pay phone is about 2 miles north, at Castle Rock State Park. No
designated handicapped parking, and trails are not suitable for wheelchairs. There
are two other significant Sanborn-Skyline Park trailheads along Skyline Boulevard:
the first is about 1.5 miles south from CA 9. Look to the left for an unmarked
dirt driveway leading to a rutted dirt parking lot. The second trailhead is easier
to find; it's a broad dirt pullout about 2.5 miles south of CA 9 across the road
from the Castle Rock State Park entrance. Neither traihead has facilities. The
main park entrance is on Sanborn Road, about 1.75 miles from Saratoga via CA 9.
There is no direct public transportation to the park.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, restaurants and stores in Saratoga. Sanborn-Skyline has a campground, accessible
from Highway 9 on the outskirts of Saratoga, with walk-in, RV, and a group campsite.
Rules:
Trails are open to hikers and equestrians only. No dogs or bicycles permitted.
Park hours are 8 a.m. to sunset.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 6 mile out and back hike is easy, with about 600 feet in elevation
change. The park's elevation ranges from around 1400 feet (near the main park
entrance) to about 3000 feet (along Skyline Boulevard).
The Official Story:
SCCP's Sanborn-Skyline
page (click on Find a Park, then Sanborn)
Park Headquarters 408-867-9959
Sanborn
Park Hostel website
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Map
from SCCP (download Sanborn pdf)
• Trail Map of the Santa Cruz Mountains (Map 1), by the Sempervirens
Fund, has great detail of the northwestern part of the park, but does not cover
the Lake Ranch area.
• Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area, by David Weintraub (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a great map and descriptions of a Sanborn-Skyline
hike.
• South Bay Trails, by Jean Rusmore, Betsy Crowder, and Frances Spangle (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and trail descriptions.
• The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book by Tom Taber (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and park info.
• 
The Bay Area
Ridge Trail, by Jean Rusmore (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and descriptions of the Ridge
Trail segment.
Sanborn-Skyline
in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured hike.
• View photos from this hike.
Sanborn-Skyline County Park is perhaps best known as the
home 
to
the Welch Hurst House American Youth Hostel. The historic building, constructed
in 1908, features handsome redwood and madrone interior woodwork, and provides
inexpensive lodgings for travelers. Welch Hurst House is situated near the park
headquarters just a few miles from Saratoga, and is one of the many facilities
Sanborn-Skyline offers in the park's "lowlands." You'll find restrooms,
walk-in and family campgrounds, as well as group and individual picnic areas.
Just a mile uphill as the crow flies, several rustic trailheads along Skyline
Boulevard (and one on Black Road) offer nothing more than parking. Sanborn-Skyline
presents a city mouse/country mouse conundrum, so consider which mouse you are
before you visit. Families will probably be happiest near park headquarters, where
they can picnic and stroll on an all-access trail. Hikers seeking solitude should
try the Sunnyvale Mountain trailhead, one of the loneliest staging areas on 
Skyline
Boulevard. The Bay Area Ridge Trail's path through the Santa Cruz Mountains terminates
(or begins, depending on your perspective) at Sunnyvale Mountain, and the trailhead
has an end-of-the-line feeling.
Unlike the other open space preserve and park staging
areas nearby, from the Sunnyvale Mountain Trailhead there are no multiple choices
for loop hikes, and the only option is an out-and-back trek, although you can
add on one of two loops. If you'd like to check out the area near park headquarters,
hike downhill on Sanborn Trail. You'll pass through Todd Creek Redwoods and then
reach the main park area via Peterson Trail. Then you'll regain about 1600 feet
of elevation as you hike back uphill on San Andreas and Sanborn Trails. For an
easier semi-loop, hike on Skyline Trail to Indian Rock, then continue northwest
onto the Summit Rock Loop, from which Summit Rock offers views east from an elevation
of about 3076 feet. This hike is about 9 miles in length, but the elevation changes
are relatively gentle. A visit to adjacent Castle Rock State Park is also possible,
but more logically undertaken from the trailhead near Indian Rock, which is almost
directly across Skyline Boulevard from the main entrance to Castle Rock.
With an extensive black oak and big leaf maple
tree population, Skyline Trail is a knockout in autumn. Huge old Douglas fir,
as well as tanoak, California bay, and madrone shade the trail in summer, mitigating
the heat but unfortunately sheltering great swarms of flies. Late winter and spring
are perhaps better spent in the nearby chaparral or grassland of Castle
Rock, Long Ridge, or Upper
Stevens Creek.
For the featured hike, start at the Sunnyvale
Mountain Trailhead. Begin walking north on the gated and signed Skyline Trail,
open to hikers and equestrians only. A meadow overgrown with broom, coyote brush,
and
blue elderberry drifts downhill to the right. You might see quail sitting in the
taller shrubs. Along the trail, which is initially a wide old ranch road, black
oaks dominate, with poison oak in the understory. Although Skyline Trail parallels
Skyline Boulevard, the road is not visible. After a few feet, an appealing-looking
path heads to the right, but it's not a viable trail, so stay to the left.
The nearly flat trail reaches a split at a signed junction at 0.18 mile. Bear
right and remain on Skyline Trail.
The trail narrows and steps into a woodland of towering
Douglas fir, tanoak, and madrone. There's a sharp dropoff downhill to the right,
but the trail proceeds at a mostly level pace, angling across the hillside. You
might notice a huge sandstone boulder on the left, one of many such formations
that can be explored in this park 
as
well as in neighboring Castle Rock. At 0.48 mile the trail reaches a picnic table
near Skyline Boulevard. Check out the old stone fence and gateposts, remnants
of past landholders. Skyline Trail curves away from the road and heads back into
the woods. The narrow path skirts another rock formation and passes some downed
branches from elderly tanoak and Douglas fir trees. After a brief sojourn through
an open and overgrown area where you might notice a few spring and summer flowers
making a statement among the coyote brush, Skyline Trail descends gently to a
signed junction at 1.22 miles. Sanborn Trail heads downhill to the right. Turn
left to remain on Skyline Trail.
Madrone, tanoak, and Douglas fir, along with California
bay and big leaf maple, create a thick canopy that permits little understory growth,
but in some places you might notice small shrubs of hazelnut, creambush, and wood
rose. Hound's tongue and western heart's ease are common in spring.
In summer, a few tiny orchids bloom inconspicuously among the confetti of fallen
madrone leaves. Skyline Trail draws near the road again, and a rickety set of
log-reenforced steps heading uphill to the left reaches a roadside pullout. Continue
to the right. The path climbs slightly along a rocky stretch and then levels out
again. Some mighty Douglas fir and madrone might cause you to pause in wonder;
these geriatric giants live a somewhat sheltered existence, shielded from winter
winds by the hillside to the left. The trail bends right near an old metal "no
bikes" sign. Adopting a slightly wider girth, Skyline Trail winds through
a magnificent and quiet forest which is especially lovely when fog blows across
the ridge from the west and billows downhill into the woods. Although you are
never far from Skyline Boulevard, traffic noise is only occasional (especially
on weekdays). Skyline Trail narrows again, and more rock formations appear, looming
out of the woods on both sides of the trail. At 3.02 miles, the trail reaches
a trail sign, huge boulder, and roadside parking (I call this the Indian Rock
Trailhead). Walk a few feet more uphill to the right, to Indian Rock(s),
where black oaks, madrones, and coast live oaks provide shade and a perfect spot
for a lunch break among the rock formations. When ready, retrace your steps
back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 6.04 miles
Last hiked: Monday, July 16, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
to
the Welch Hurst House American Youth Hostel. The historic building, constructed
in 1908, features handsome redwood and madrone interior woodwork, and provides
inexpensive lodgings for travelers. Welch Hurst House is situated near the park
headquarters just a few miles from Saratoga, and is one of the many facilities
Sanborn-Skyline offers in the park's "lowlands." You'll find restrooms,
walk-in and family campgrounds, as well as group and individual picnic areas.
Just a mile uphill as the crow flies, several rustic trailheads along Skyline
Boulevard (and one on Black Road) offer nothing more than parking. Sanborn-Skyline
presents a city mouse/country mouse conundrum, so consider which mouse you are
before you visit. Families will probably be happiest near park headquarters, where
they can picnic and stroll on an all-access trail. Hikers seeking solitude should
try the Sunnyvale Mountain trailhead, one of the loneliest staging areas on 
Skyline
Boulevard. The Bay Area Ridge Trail's path through the Santa Cruz Mountains terminates
(or begins, depending on your perspective) at Sunnyvale Mountain, and the trailhead
has an end-of-the-line feeling. 
are relatively gentle. A visit to adjacent Castle Rock State Park is also possible,
but more logically undertaken from the trailhead near Indian Rock, which is almost
directly across Skyline Boulevard from the main entrance to Castle Rock. 
and
blue elderberry drifts downhill to the right. You might see quail sitting in the
taller shrubs. Along the trail, which is initially a wide old ranch road, black
oaks dominate, with poison oak in the understory. Although Skyline Trail parallels
Skyline Boulevard, the road is not visible. After a few feet, an appealing-looking
path heads to the right, but it's not a viable trail, so stay to the left.
The nearly flat trail reaches a split at a signed junction at 0.18 mile. Bear
right and remain on Skyline Trail. 
as
well as in neighboring Castle Rock. At 0.48 mile the trail reaches a picnic table
near Skyline Boulevard. Check out the old stone fence and gateposts, remnants
of past landholders. Skyline Trail curves away from the road and heads back into
the woods. The narrow path skirts another rock formation and passes some downed
branches from elderly tanoak and Douglas fir trees. After a brief sojourn through
an open and overgrown area where you might notice a few spring and summer flowers
making a statement among the coyote brush, Skyline Trail descends gently to a
signed junction at 1.22 miles. Sanborn Trail heads downhill to the right. Turn
left to remain on Skyline Trail.
In summer, a few tiny orchids bloom inconspicuously among the confetti of fallen
madrone leaves. Skyline Trail draws near the road again, and a rickety set of
log-reenforced steps heading uphill to the left reaches a roadside pullout. Continue
to the right. The path climbs slightly along a rocky stretch and then levels out
again. Some mighty Douglas fir and madrone might cause you to pause in wonder;
these geriatric giants live a somewhat sheltered existence, shielded from winter
winds by the hillside to the left. The trail bends right near an old metal "no
bikes" sign. Adopting a slightly wider girth, Skyline Trail winds through
a magnificent and quiet forest which is especially lovely when fog blows across
the ridge from the west and billows downhill into the woods. Although you are
never far from Skyline Boulevard, traffic noise is only occasional (especially
on weekdays). Skyline Trail narrows again, and more rock formations appear, looming
out of the woods on both sides of the trail. At 3.02 miles, the trail reaches
a trail sign, huge boulder, and roadside parking (I call this the Indian Rock
Trailhead). Walk a few feet more uphill to the right, to Indian Rock(s),
where black oaks, madrones, and coast live oaks provide shade and a perfect spot
for a lunch break among the rock formations. When ready, retrace your steps
back to the trailhead.