Delightful surprises arise near foothills

After 220 columns about parks, preserves, and trails, I sometimes allow myself to think there are no surprises left. If I haven’t been there, I surely must have heard of it. Right? Wrong…again.
Named for the person who helped buy the land, Enid Pearson Arastradero Preserve is a 609-acre preserve owned by the City of Palo Alto that adjoins Palo Alto Foothills Park and Stanford lands in the hills above Highway 280. On a recent weekday, I had some extra time on my hands before appointments in the area. A four-mile loop at this preserve seemed like the perfect way to fill it.
I exited Highway 280 and turned south on Page Mill Road to the first right turn, Arastradero Road. The preserve parking lot and visitor center was an easy half-mile up the road on the right. While Highway 280 is just over the hill, barely a driver and a five iron away, the visitor center rests in a quiet setting that feels far removed from the Bay Area hubbub.
The parking lot is at the lowest point in the preserve, so all trails head up, but not the kind of up with a chip on its shoulder. Along Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, I climbed gently beside Arastradero Creek. On my left, dense riparian foliage choked the dry creek bed; coast live oaks and valley oaks arched over blue elderberry, toyon, and willow. Across the trail, everything was strikingly different. Bright rolling grass-carpeted hills rose above me sparingly dotted with an occasional shrub, valley oak, or buckeye.
A mile and a half out, I turned right onto the Woodrat Trail and began a shaded climb out of the creek bed toward the open hills above. Out of the thicket and onto the rounded ridgetop that is the heart of this preserve, I reached the headline attraction. From my low perch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I enjoyed spectacular views usually reserved for much higher elevations. Up north, Mt. Tamalpais was crystal clear. I could distinguish individual buildings in the San Francisco skyline. The Bay Bridge, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Hamilton, and the entire rim of the bay seemed just out of reach.
I paused at Vista Point to savor this view, then turned toward home on the Meadowlark Trail. The bay view still in front of me, I descended through the hill’s cascading folds swathed in spring green just beginning to fade toward summer brown. Ithuriel’s spear, purple owl’s clover, blue-eyed grass, and plenty of poppies decorated the way.
Enid Pearson Arastradero Preserve was a delightful surprise in every way. While the landscape is not spectacular, it is a perfect example of the quintessential California landscape. Nature is not flexing its muscles, just rolling out a warm and inviting place for a lighthearted frolic. On a weekday, at least, I felt as though I was hours from the anthill even though the heart of Palo Alto was just minutes away. For views like this, one would expect to snake up many miles of mountain road, but the preserve is nearly as handy as roadside turnout.
Hurry. Spring is fading fast, and this preserve is surely at its best in spring. There is no day-use fee, and the preserve is open every day from 8:00 am to sunset. Dogs are permitted on a leash.