Sanborn-Skyline

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Location

Sanborn-Skyline County Park is a huge park filled with history, trails for hiking and biking, camping, meadows for picnicing, a stage and annual theatre production, a lake, and even a hostel. It can be accessed easily from three sides, but all three access points are quite far apart, a testament to the size of the park.

The main entrance to the park, with access to the theatre, hostel, camping, meadows for picnicing, and many hiking trails, is just outside Old Town Saratoga, off of Highway 9. To access it from Saratoga's Old Town, drive about 1.75 miles from Saratoga along Highway 9, towards Skyline Blvd. The sharp left turn for Sanborn Road is well marked near a narrow bridge, with a sign for the hostel as well as a sign for camping. Turn left onto Sanborn Road and follow it all the way down into the park. For directions, use the address for the Youth Science Institute, which is within the park, just past the entrance, at 16055 Sanborn Road in Saratoga. For a map or directions to this location, use Google Map's map of Sanborn-Skyline Park.
The parking area for the John Nicholas Trail (to Lake Ranch Reservoir) is just beyond Lexington Reservoir, on the North Side of Highway 17, on Black Road. Black Road can also be accessed from Skyline Blvd, but the drive is far less curvy coming from Hwy 17. From Hwy 17, take the Bear Creek Road/Black Road exit, turning left to follow Black Road uphill. The parking area is to the right after about 4 miles along Black Road.
The park can be accessed near Castle Rock, from Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35).
- Look for the gate a little more than 1 mile South along Skyline Blvd past the Castle Rock parking lot, on the left side of the road; it can be accessed from parking lots within a mile in either direction along Skyline Blvd (and you can hike between them along Skyline Trail).
- Parking is most accessible a little under a mile from this gate, across the street from the Castle Rock parking area.
- Another trailhead is at the Sunnyvale Mountain parking area, about 2 miles South along Skyline Blvd from the Castle Rock parking area, on the left side of the road.

Attractions:

Miles and miles of hiking trails, most which are shady.
A big meadow and BBQ pits make this a great spot for a picnic.
Great shady campsites (be sure to talk to a ranger about avoiding the steep sites).
Youth Science Institute has a center here, with opportunities for children to discover nature first-hand.
Shady Shakespeare Theatre Company presents plays in the summer, at their outdoor amphitheatre.
There is a lot of ranch history in this area, and you can still see evidence of it in places, as in introduced plants (for landscaping or agriculture) as well as old farm structures.
The Costanoan Group Area has horseshoe pits and a place for a voleyball net.
If you begin from the Skyline Blvd trailheads, you can scramble up some rocks or watch climbers, at Indian Rock or the nearby Castle Rock. Also enjoy the views from Summit Rock, also nearby. See Castle and Summit Rock's Webpage for more information.

Limitations:

Stay on the trails to avoid ticks and poison oak.
No dogs allowed except in RV area (parking lot).
No bikes allowed except on paved roads.
Swimming at the lake is prohibited.

Season:

Year round, 8 am to sunset.

Fees:

Parking and access are free at the more remote access points (from Skyline and from Hwy 17). Pay day-use or camping fees at the main entrance to the park. For information on these fees, see the County Website on the park (see "More Information" below).

Maps & More Information:

Pick up a map when you pay your entry fee at the entrance, if parking at the main parking lot for the park.
Santa Clara County Website on Sanborn Park
Map of Sanborn-Skyline Park
Youth Science Institute at Sanborn Park
Shady Shakepeare's Season
Sanborn Park Hostel
Call the ranger at (408) 867-9959.

Handicapped Access:

Paths are not suitable for Handicapped Access, due to the grade of most of them. The Lake trail (see "Recommended Routes" below) is the most moderately graded while also being wide.

Recommended routes:

Peterson Memorial Trail and Sanborn Trail Loop
This trail begins from the Peterson Grove Parking Area near the Youth Science Institute. Along the paved trail (a road, really), walk uphill past the well groomed meadow, and into the camping area. Continue following this road (Sanborn Trail) past all of the camping spots and uphill past the youth camping area. Follow Sanborn Trail until it meets Peterson Memorial Trail, then turn right to follow Peterson Memorial Trail. Continue following Peterson Memorial Trail (always stay to the right when this trail meets others) until you reach the amphitheatre. Follow the trail to the right of the amphitheatre to return towards your starting location (you'll see the meadow). Total distance is about 2.1 miles.
Sanborn Trail (entire length)
As above, take Sanborn Trail from the Peterson Grove Parking Area near the Youth Science Institute. Follow the paved Sanborn Trail uphill, past the meadow and through the shady camping area. Continue following it into the hills, turning left when it meets Peterson Memorial Trail, to stay on Sanborn Trail. Sanborn Trail will zigzag uphill moderately steeply, then follow a ridge, before meeting San Andreas Trail. Turn left to stay on Sanborn Trail, which will continue to follow a ridge and climb, before meeting Skyline Trail, which runs along Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) in both directions. If you'd like to hike to the gate at Skyline, take the right-most fork on Skyline Trail and walk for about 0.1 miles. Head back the way you came. Alternatively, this trail could be started from Skyline Boulevard's trailhead. Total distance is about 7.4 miles round trip.
John Nicholas Trail to Lake Ranch Reservoir From the Black Road trailhead, hike along John Nicholas Trail. This is by far the easiest of all of the trails at Sanborn Park, with ample width to the trail and very reasonable grading. Return back the way you came after reaching the reservoir for a total distance of 2.8 miles, or add the trail along the right side of the lake, which extends for 0.5 mile, to make the total distance 3.8 miles. You can continue the trail downhill to Sanborn Road, past the lake, but this stretch is a steep 0.6 miles in one direction.
San Andreas Trail and Nature Trail Loop Note: When we last hiked this trail, we found the multiple trail junctions confusing. All trail sections are short, happily, so even if the trail isn't entirely clear, it's easy to find one's way back to the start.
This trail begins near the amphitheatre and takes you along well graded wide trail, with marked evidence of Earth's movement along the San Andreas Fault. From the amphitheatre, walk across the stream and turn left to follow San Andreas Trail. When the trail splits, take the right-most trail to follow the Nature Trail. The Nature Trail will merge into San Andreas Trail. Stay right and follow San Andreas trail as it passes maintenance buildings and passes the Youth Hostel (stay right all the way until the Hostel). At the hostel, turn left to follow Sa Andreas Trail, passing the maintenance buildings again, and turning left when the trail forks with a service road. Follow the San Andreas trail to the right (you'll walk a segment you walked before, in the other direction), then take the trail to the right when it forks. When the trail merges with another, merge (rather than turning right) to follow the trail back towards the Amphitheatre. Total distance is about 1.2 miles.
Sunnyvale Mountain to Indian Rock (Skyline Trail between two Skyline Blvd parking areas)
From the Sunnyvale Mountain Parking Area along Skyline Blvd (2 miles South of the Castle Rock parking area), head North along Skyline Trail. Follow the trail as it runs parallel to Skyline Blvd (you'll hear but not see the road), then continue right to stay on Skyline Trail at a junction. You'll pass a picnic table after about 0.5 miles and see old wood and stone fences. At the junction with Sanborn Trail, turn left to stay on Skyline Trail. Follow Skyline to the right, avoiding a roadside pullout and stairs to the left, continuing towards Indian Rock. Turn back when you reach the parking area (this is the parking area nearer to Castle Rock). Total distance for this trail is about 6 miles.