Pearson-Arastradero Preserve

Location

Pearson-Arastradero Preserve is located on the edge of Palo Alto at 1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. To get there from Highway 280, take the Page Mill Road exit, turning to follow the Los Altos Hills/Arastradero Road signs. After driving half of a mile on Page Mill Road, turn right onto Arastradero, then right into the parking lot after about 0.1 mile.
Use Google Maps for directions.

Attractions:

Beautiful rolling grassy hills.
This is a great place to see rabbits, ground squirrels, mice, coyotes, and birds.
Trek out to the pond to see ducks and other water fowl, frogs, snails, and plenty of water insects.
This is a great place for wildflowers in the Spring.
This area is popular with equestrians, and you can see horses often at the parking lot or along the trail to the pond.
Arastradero has every kind of trail – rolling hills, flat paths, single-track, and wide fire road.
This is a popular destination for mountain bikers.
Dogs allowed!
The nature center, bathrooms, and benches near the parking lot are clean, modern, and well maintained.
There are twilight hikes here throughout the year, provided by park rangers. See the City of Palo Alto Webpage on Arastradero for more information. Hikes finish up by the time gates to the park close, and begin from varying locations.
City of Palo Alto has a lot of great information about the park, plants, and animals at their Preserve Website (see below).

Limitations:

Stay on the trail to avoid ticks.
Watch out for poison oak, particularly by the creek, lake, or pond.
Be wary of mountain bikers, particularly if you stray from the trail recommendations below.
This is mountain lion habitat.
Coyote encounters have occurred here, which are of some concern to staff, as the coyotes have not shied away from people. See the City of Palo Alto Webpage on Arastradero for information on the location and dates of these encounters.
Rain leads to closure of some trails. See the City of Palo Alto Webpage for more information.

Season:

Year round, 8 am to sunset

Fees:

Free

Maps & More Information:

Handicapped Access:

The nature center adjacent to the parking lot is handicapped accessible. The trail to the pond is not accessible to wheelchairs that are not outfitted with wheels meant for gravel or dirt roads. All other trails are too steep or narrow for wheelchairs.

Recommended routes:

Redtail Loop Trail Icon Legend
From the parking lot, head uphill along the only trail adjacent to the parking area and before the nature center/bathrooms. This brings you uphill into the grasslands, with excellent views of the surrounding property, mice, coyotes, rabbits, and birds riding thermals. The path has two junctions to the left – take the first one, as the second is precariously steep along the property’s boundary. The trail will loop along the fence to private property including the gorgeous Felt Lake, then turn left when you reach Arastradero Road. You’ll pass a small bog patch with frogs, flowers, and variety not seen in the hills from which you came. The loop ends at the parking lot. Total distance is 1.5 miles.

To Arastradero Lake Icon Legend
From the parking lot, cross a short bridge to walk past the nature center/bathrooms, then downhill to cross Arastradero Road. Juan Bautista de Anza Trail begins on the other side of the road. It is a wide fire road that runs parallel to the creek and crosses it at a bridge. After the crossing, the path narrows and meanders in a little hilly region, then widens as you approach the lake. At the lake, the trail junctions with Paseo del Roble Trail, which is equally wide. Turn left to take Paseo del Roble, then follow the narrow side trail in a few hundred feet to the right, heading down to a lake’s beach. This is a great place to view wildlife and in the wet season, a small creek feeds the lake from this area. Return back the way you came. Total distance is about 1.2 miles.

Extension Option 1: From the Lake, return to Juan Bautista de Anza Trail and turn left to continue down it. In a few hundred feet, there is a junction with Arastradero Creek Trail.
Stay right to continue down Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, following it until it narrows significantly, just after it comes close to Arastradero Road. There is a gate here and the path eventually ends. Return back the way you came. With this extension, the total distance is about 2.2 miles.

Extension Option 2: Turn left to follow Arastradero Creek Trail, which reaches little Sobey Pond in a little less than a mile. You can hang out at the pond, then continue past it for a little more than half of a mile until the gated access point to Foothills Park. This last stretch of trail is significantly steep, as the trail climbs into the hills; turn back early if the slope is too much for you. Return back the way you came for a total distance of about 4.1 miles.