SUNDAY DRIVE

What you’ll see: The new Mindego Gateway and Ancient Oaks Trail opened last week into Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. It provides a new parking area on Alpine Road with a wheelchairaccessible view area that looks across coastal foothills. You also get access on a new trail for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding into beautiful Russian Ridge.

Location: Located on Alpine Road, west of the crest of Skyline/Highway 35, above Palo Alto on the south Peninsula.

The park: Russian Ridge spans 3,137 acres on the western slope of Skyline Ridge. On clear days, long-distance views are sensational across coastal hills. When fog drapes the coast, you often can gain a perch above the stratus, where it looks like a pearlescent sea. The Peninsula Open Space Trust paid for the new parking area.

Mindego Gateway: The new section of Ancient Oaks Trail from the Mindego Gateway

parkingloop that lot is extendsrouted fromto a 4-mileshady woodlands to ridgetop lookouts.

Borel Hill: Another trailhead for Russian Ridge is located on Skyline, across the road from Vista Point. It leads a half mile to 2,572-foot Borel Hill for gorgeous views west across coastal foothills to the azure-blue horizon of the sea.

Cost: Parking, access, free.

Map/brochure: Available at park entrance (in box, recycle when done), PDF at website.

GPS: Use 300 Alpine Road, Redwood City (most GPS devices list location of trailhead in Redwood City, though it is 20 miles, by my odometer, from Redwood City).

HOW TO GET THERE New Mindego Gateway Trail

head: Drive to the San Francisco Peninsula and Interstate 280 and continue to Woodside and the exit for Woodside Road/ Highway 84. Take the exit to Woodside Road, turn west (right if coming from the north/San Francisco) and drive 6.5 miles

(through Woodside, enter red

woods, becomes curvy as you

climb) to Sky Londa and Skyline

Boulevard/Highway 35. Turn left on Skyline and drive 7.3 miles to junction with Alpine Road on right (Page Mill Road on left). Turn right on Alpine Road and

drive 1.3 miles (becomes curvy) to turnoff on right to new parking area.

Skyline Trailhead: As detailed above, drive to Sky Londa. Turn left on Skyline and drive 6 miles to Caltrans Vista Point (facing South Bay) on left. Park and walk across Skyline (facing ocean) to trailhead for Borel Hill.

Option from South Bay: From Palo Alto at I-280, take Page Mill Road west about 10 miles (becomes very narrow and curvy, watch out for bikes) to Skyline/ Highway 35. Continue straight on Alpine Road for 1.3 miles to parking on right. Distances to Mindego Gateway: 10 miles from Sky Londa, 14 miles from Woodside, 26 miles from Half Moon Bay, 27 miles from San Jose, 35 miles from Hayward, 45 miles from downtown San Francisco, 52 miles from Sausalito, 52 miles from Dublin.

Contacts: Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, (650) 691-1200, www.openspace.org.