In brief:
3.7 mile loop over grassy hills and through ancient oaks. Exceptional wildflowers in late April through May.

Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 3.7 mile partial loop hike is easy, with about 910 feet of elevation change. Trailhead elevation is about 2260 feet. The featured hike climbs to about 2500 feet, descends to 2150 feet, climbs back to a high elevation of 2554 feet, then descends back to the trailhead.

Exposure:
Mostly exposed.

Trail traffic:
Moderate.

Trail surfaces:
Dirt trails and fire roads.

Hiking time:
2 hours.

Season:
Nice year round but extra pretty in spring.

Getting there:

From Interstate 280 in Santa Clara County, exit #20 Page Mill Road, and head west. Drive about 9 miles, to the junction with Skyline Boulevard, cross Skyline and continue straight onto Alpine Road, then make the first right into the parking lot.

GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude 37°18'55.54"N
Longitude 122°11'18.95"W
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)

Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, restaurants, and store at the junction of 35 and 84, about 7 miles north. No camping in the preserve.

Trailhead details:
Large gravel parking lot. No entrance or parking fees. Maps available at information signboard. No drinking water. There are designated handicapped parking spots, a wheelchair-accessible pit toilet, and an all-access trail heads south into Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve at the edge of the parking lot. There is no direct public transportation to this preserve.

Rules:
All but one trail are multi-use. That one trail restricts bicycles. No dogs.

The Official Story:
MROSD's Russian Ridge page.
MROSD field office 650-691-1200

Map Choices:

This hike is described and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup, that's me, the creator of this website). Order this book from Amazon.com.
• Map from MROSD (download Russian Ridge pdf)
• Dave Baselt's Skyline Ridge map is an excellent guide to Russian Ridge and other neighboring parks (order from Redwood Hikes).

Russian Ridge in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured hike.


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