San Mateo County Parks and Recreation,
San Mateo County
3/4 mile loop hike on an all-access trail.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 0.7 mile loop hike is very easy. Trailhead elevation is about 760 feet. The park's highest point is about 2000 feet. This hike is nearly flat, with only about 40 feet in elevation change.
Exposure:
Mostly shaded.
Trail traffic:
Light.
Trail surfaces:
Dirt trail.
Hiking time:
Under an hour.
Season:
Nice any time.
Getting there:
From Interstate 280 in San Mateo County, exit Woodside Road (CA 84). Drive west about 1.5 miles, then turn right onto Kings Mountain Road. Drive about 2 miles on this narrow road (watch for cyclists, motorcyclists, and deer), then turn right into the park. Once past the entry kiosk, look for the Chickadee Trailhead on the right side of the road.
GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude
Longitude
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)
Gas, food, lodging:
Gas, restaurants, and picnic supplies at Woodside, about 3 miles away. The only overnight option in the park is youth group camping.
Trailhead details:
Two designated handicapped parking spots; more general parking across the street. $5 entrance fee (self registration if kiosk unattended). Maps available at the entry kiosk. Phone next to trailhead. No accessible restrooms near the trailhead, but there are are restrooms near the picnic areas. There is no direct public transportation to the park.
Rules:
Most trails are open to equestrians and hikers only. A few are designated hiking only. No bikes on trails. No dogs permitted.
The Official Story:
CSMP's Huddart page.
Park office 650-851-1210
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's Palo Alto/Redwood City map to get to the park.
• CSMP's Huddart map
• The Trail Center's Trail Map of the Central Peninsula is a good guide to this hike (order this map from Amazon.com).
• Tom Taber's The Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Book has a simple map (order this book from Amazon.com).
• Peninsula Trails, by Rusmore, Spangle, and Crowder, has a simple map and trail descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).
• View 28 photos from the featured hike.
Huddart's
Chickadee Trail is a wonderful 0.75 mile 
all-access
loop through a variety of bay area plants. Parents hiking with children
may find Chickadee a great venue for nature study. (Posts along the way
identify plants and the county presumably has a brochure with which to
follow along, but I haven't seen it.) There are a few benches along the
path where you can rest and soak in the sunshine or shade. The surface,
compacted earth, is uneven in place, and the one short hill may make this
loop difficult for a solo wheelchair user.
A few feet from the parking area, Chickadee
splits. If you head right (counterclockwise) the trail has one short slightly
steep downhill section, while if you head left (clockwise) you'll face
the same ascent uphill. I went left and immediately began enjoying the
warm spicy aromas of chaparral plants. You may see madrone, chamise, manzanita,
toyon, 
coyote
brush, ceanothus, and California coffeeberry. Poison oak, common throughout
the loop, is easy to pick out in the late summer and autumn, when its
leaves turn red. Chickadee winds levelly south, offering partial views
east through breaks in the vegetation. A bridge crosses the lower portion
of a seasonal gorge, then the trail turns west, climbs easily through
oak and California bay, and sweeps north through some redwoods. A second
bridge crosses the gorge again. Some Douglas fir accompany oaks and California
bay. Chickadee Trail drifts back into chaparral. Look for more toyon,
coffeeberry, and pitcher sage. At 0.75 mile, Chickadee Trail joins the
other end of its loop and returns to the trailhead.
Total distance: about 0.75 mile
Last hiked: Tuesday, September 5, 2000
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