TRIP POLICY: Please limit your sign-ups to 1 weekend trip and 2 weekday trips per month. Also, please take a moment to read our other policies here.
Pacific Wren by Corey Raffel
Lake Ranch and the John Nicholas Trail (Saratoga)
Sanborn Park, located in the hills above Saratoga, is a great place to explore redwoods, oak-madrone forest and riparian habitats. We'll take the Lake Ranch trail (a very steep half mile) up to the lake, then take the John Nicholas trail past the lake and into the forest. Pileated Woodpecker and Pacific Wren are likely birds.
Trip Difficulty: 3-4 miles, packed-dirt trails, very steep for the first 1/2 mile, shady
Other Trip Notes: Carpooling required. Due to limited parking at the trailhead, we will meet in the parking lot of the main entrance to Sanborn, then carpool to the trail start.
Leaders: John Harshman (408) 406-4733 and Liz Frith (408) 505-2867
Family Friendly Ages 10 and up
Meet: Costanoan parking lot
Directions: From CA-85 in Saratoga, exit Saratoga Ave and travel south for about 2 miles. Continue straight through the intersection onto CA-9 S/Big Basin Way. In 2.5 miles, turn left onto Sanborn Rd. The park entrance will be on the right in 1.1 miles. After passing through the entry kiosk, follow the signs to the Costanoan parking lot. Latitude/Longitude: 37.233290, -122.061748
Facilities: Bathrooms and drinking water only at the main entrance parking lot, once we carpool to the Lake Ranch trail, there won't be any access to either. Cell coverage may be intermittent or non-existent.
Parking Type and Fees: Santa Clara County Park entry fee of $6, credit card only or SCC annual park pass
Questions? Email general questions to fieldtrips@scvas.org or contact the trip leader for questions regarding the event.