Black Mountain - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

This is a 3,133-acre open space preserve, located near Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, California, United States. The preserve encompasses the upper Stevens Creek watershed in the valley between Monte Bello Ridge and Skyline Ridge. "Monte Bello" means "beautiful mountain" in Italian, and refers to Black Mountain which is the highest part of Montebello Ridge.

This is a conjoined public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the northwest quadrant of Santa Clara County, California. The County Park is bordered by Los Altos with some parts of the eastern part of the County Park in western Cupertino. The Open Space Preserve is on the west side of the County Park, also bordered by Los Altos Hills, Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, and the Permanente Quarry.

This is a 1,400-acre park and nature preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. The park contains nearly one tenth of all land in Palo Alto. About 90 acres of the park are developed with amenities including a large grassy field, picnic sites, a walk-in, tent-only campground, and a nature interpretive center. Boronda lake is used for fishing, rowing, and canoeing. The park also has 15 miles of trails.

Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve is a regional park located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This 3,137-acre preserve known for its showy display of wildflowers in spring. In summer, the hills turn to gold with the late evening sunlight. Diverse plant communities, miles of forest edge, and abundant springs make Russian Ridge an outstanding habitat for wildlife.

This is a beautiful location, with many different hiking, biking, and horseback trails winding around Stevens Creek Reservoir and into the hills. It is adjacent to Fremont Older Open Space Preserve to the east, and Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve to the west. The reservoir was formed by the Stevens Creek Dam, built in 1935 across Stevens Creek. It is one of the smaller reservoirs owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Redwood Grove Nature Preserve is a 6.12 acre facility, which contains picnic tables, a boardwalk along Adobe Creek, and a Hillside Trail. It showcases a range of California ecosystems including redwood forest, the riparian floodplain of Adobe Creek, oak woodland, and native meadow. A good trekking destination and also there are so many things to see and do.