Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve

Pretty average, nothing too special. Lots of trees around and the path is a dirt path, pretty wide. Not very well-​labeled with signs, and it’s not very shaded either. We parked at the west-​most entrance on Alma Bridge Road, and the parking lot there was quite small. Quite a workout climbing up, and going down was quite steep.
The path we did was: Priest Rock Trail (1.2 + 1.2 + 1.4 miles) right on Kennedy Trail (1.4 miles) right on Limekiln Trail (2.9 + 1.4 + 0.8 miles) Alma Bridge Road (0.4 miles). Here’s a link to the park map:
and an elevation gain map for the path we took:
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So I came here with my best friend. We parked on the street near the parking lot (we didn’t want to pay). We went on a hike right next to the parking spots. We realized afterwards that we were at the wrong one lol So a heads up to everyone that wants to hike here you need to keep driving downward, pass the parking lot and lake and make a sharp right. Everyone parks on the side of the street. Out of curiosity me and my best friend kept walking and found a second hike which come to find out was Sierra Azule lol
This hike is bike friendly, which More power to those strong individual who are going uphill On a bike, it’s a challenge enough to walk. I wouldn’t say it’s as intense as Mission Peaks but it’s a beautiful view. We went on a Sunday and there wasn’t much of a crowd.

What is the purpose of an open space preserve? Preserve flora and fauna, preserve a special feature or view, and/​or provide recreation opportunities. Sierra Azul has two out of three; not bad.
I’m not surprised that the undeveloped wildland east of Lexington Reservoir is an open space preserve. All my times driving to and from Santa Cruz, I’ve seen the hills, and although I haven’t always thought «It would be cool to find out what’s in them thar hills», that thought has occasionally crossed my mind. Well, I found out what’s in them thar hills, hence this review.
I was part of a guided hike with the Mid-​Peninsula Open Space organization, a 10.8 miler on Priest Rock, Kennedy, and Limekiln trails. We parked on Alma Bridge Road. Lots of shrubbery typical of these dry hills, reminds me of Southern California hiking. Occasional forests, especially in the canyons where there are seasonal creeks. The Priest Rock trail is steep, and the top half mile is very steep; bikers, make sure your rear brakes work well.
The Sierra Azul preserve is not remote, but because the trailheads *are* quite remote, this preserve doesn’t get a lot of use. So it’s a good place to get your aerobic exercise, clear your mind, or take the dog for a run without facing the crowds. As for the ridge trail, aka the Kennedy Trail — well, it has a view of the Santa Clara Valley that made me say «wow».
If you’re looking for a workout, don’t need anything special, and just want to get away from the bustle without driving too far, then Sierra Azul is a good option.

As mentioned in other reviews, car «smash and grabs» are still a problem at the Kennedy/​Shannon Road lot. My car window was broken into and raided, midweek in the middle of the day, even though the lot was full when I got there and lots of cars/​bikes were passing through the area. These crooks will never be caught and will likely continue to target this spot. Recommend parking elsewhere and also not leaving anything of monetary or sentimental value in the car.

Nice trail! Pretty steep but worth it once you get on top! The view was amazing! Just be cautious, we saw a baby coyote running around!!!

Iconic Santa Cruz Mountains. I hiked 11 miles. It consist of craggy ridges and luch green hills. Trails are very wide (fire road), and there is a creek along the trail in some portions.
Vista is great. You can see all the South bay. I also enjoyed rattlesnake, lizard, newt, squarrels. I almost stepped on the rattlesnake!

Limited parking, but that’s a good thing since it keeps the trails sparse. If you are trail runner this is a fabulous alternative to the overcrowded alternatives such as Rancho San Antonio. Also makes for an excellent family hike with kids.
Trail is shared between mountain bikers, hikers and runners. Most of the bikers are very polite and mindful of pedestrians. Occasionally a random one tries to run you off the trail, but that has been a rare thing.

Nice high trail! It’s a bit of work but worth the views.

This trail is great in any weather. It can stay warm all the way to the ridge but is going to be cooler than lower hikes. It tends to be stable and not muddy so that even steep ascents are navigable. It is tough on foot or by cycle. Fast hike/​runners can beat the cyclist uphill sometimes.
From Kennedy Road, Los Gatos entrance:
The west-​facing vista point just north of the Kennedy/​PrietsRock trail intersections makes for a nice reward and goal at 4 miles one way. There is level area with a tree in the middle of the trail just past two miles, making another good milestone along the way.
Continuing almost 2 more miles past the 4mile vista follows the ridge, ascends some more challenging hills, passes LimeKiln Trail intersection, becomes Woods Trail/​road and gets you to the Mt. El Sombroso high point that looks across at Mt.Umunhum.
Too bad Sierra Azul does not provide on the east-​facing slopes a good loop for foot traffic the loops would be long (over 12mi distance) and require walking on Hicks Road or Kennedy Road, which are not well spaced for walk/​runners.
Lexington entrances:
Light traffic. The Lime Kiln is nicely shaded much of the way and has a nice steady up. Priest Rock had very steep places making running up or down a challenge for sure. I would go this way except for the drive from the valley. You can get here from Los Gatos’ Forbes Mill/​Flume Trail/St.Johns but the return can feel like a long trek.
Woods Road/​Mt Umunhum Road entrance:
The Woods Trail route to El Sombroso from the south at Mt. Umunhum Road/​Hicks Road is a shorter trek than reaching the peak by Kennedy, though its last mile+ is steep and exposed, most of the route has shade and is not steep.
The east-​facing trails provide lot of shade later in the day. Take water on a hot day and expect to take longer. I suggest taking water until you become familiar with the trail, regardless.
The overall steepness means trail runners will have to walk in many parts… which is great if you don’t actually like the running but just the hard work.
I have ascended Kennedy Trail from Kennedy Road 48 times so far in the last 18 months (plus a bunch of times from the Lexington side up LimeKiln/​PriestRock) and never had trouble with crowds, parking, rangers…
iSmoothRunner app tries to estimate amount of up and usually gives about 1800 feet of ascending Kennedy Trail just to the ridge vista (another 1000 feet of ups for El Sombroso), so if you like hills and/​or do not like feeling like you have to run, these trails can provide a lot of satisfaction.
Fire/​Emergency services can drive the roads but you will rarely see them. Do not expect cell service to work.

We had a great hike here last week, about five miles roundtrip on the Woods trail from the Hicks Road lot. It was a beautiful cool fall day with blue skies, puffy white clouds and the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot. Sierra Azul was a notable destination for us, marking the day we finished hiking all the accessible MROSD preserves. The views were good with some valley views, Mt. Umunhum looming over us and beautiful trees all around. Trails were well maintained and not terribly steep.
There is a restroom at the Hicks Road entrance. Be aware that car break-​ins are known to happen in this lot — there was broken window glass on the ground the day we visited.
I look forward to a return trip to explore more of Sierra Azul.

Well maintained trail, easy to find and no issues with parking for a Tuesday evening. I never knew this trail was here until yesterday. It didn’t get the full five stars because although the views were stunning, it wasn’t much different from a lot of other trails in the area. This trail is excellent for a group with varying abilities because it is nearly impossible to get lost if someone decides to head back. Nice wide trail with plenty of room for bikers, but keep an eye out for people riding fast.

It took us about 6 hours to finish this 10-​mile loop hike. Personally, I don’t like to hike without shade, and on this hiking trail I was mostly exposed under a very vicious sun (grrr), not to mention the aggressive bugs all the way on the trail. For the first 4 hours, I had to struggle going up all the time, it was like no end of going up. There were a lot of times I did not think that I could have made it, although I did make it eventually… I would strongly suggest don’t go there if you are just a beginner of hiking!!! Over all, I have to say that this hiking was the most strenous I have ever done since we moved to the Bay Area (we have already done about 30 different hikes). If you think Mission Peak is tough, you should try this hiking trail.(I am sure that you will be more grateful for the gentle hiking in Mission Peak)

The drive here took awhile since it was a weekend and HOT, so everyone was on the 17 going to the beaches.
When we got here, parking was a cinch! We parked along Alma Bridge Road and starting hiking along Priest Rock Trail then to Limekiln Trail. The trails are beautiful. There’s a lot of wildlife here… different birds, plants and butterflies… we saw a herd of wild pigs, lizards, and a black snake with a yellow stripe. Trails are quiet too. We ran into about 5 people during our three hour hike. The one thing I wished for was a canopy of trees to block the intense sun. We were exposed almost the entire way.
The original plan was supposed to hike the 10 mile loop, but that changed about 2 hours into the hike since I started to have a blister on my toe (no bueno!) and it was HOT. TIP: I think the perfect time to go here would be in the fall.

Sierra Azul Open Space is a huge chunk of land in the hills above Los Gatos.
I mainly use this open-​space for mt. biking. The «Trails» are only dirt freeways and are usually covered in a thick layer of gravel. It’s a good place to go when it’s raining and wet, as it holds up well to weather. Other than that, the quality of the trails is low.
In terms of location, Sierra Azul and provide a nice get away from cars and crowds. Long climbs are rewarded with some epic views.
One day, I hope that more of the Mt. Umunhum area will be opened up and a «Los Gatos to the Sea» route will be opened.
But, as with the problem with most Mid-​Peninsula Open Space — the rangers are very strict and access is very limited for the amount of «Open» space there is. They use our tax money to buy up property to keep it from being developed, which I completely support, but they are slow to allow taxpayer access to these places.

This area is amazing… Very good hicking/​bicking possible. Very quiet. Not many people visit this area… Great parking spot up Umuhum mountain for taking pictures of the valley/​SJ.

Activity Type: Hiking
Nearby City: Los Gatos
Length: 6.5 total miles
Elevation Gain: 1,300 feet
Trail Type: Out-​and-​back
Duration: 3.5 hours
Season: Year-​round
Other Uses: Equestrians and bicycles
Local Contacts: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Climbing a winding service road on a ridge between Limekiln and Soda Spring canyons takes you from Lexington Reservoir toward the heights of El Sombroso.

The «parking lot» only has room for 2 cars, so park along Top of the Hill Rd (right next to the entrance).
Most of this trail is uphill and the path is quite rocky. Beware to have sore feet the next day. Great work out though and there’s a little trail on the left side after maybe ½ way, which provides a great view of the city. Wish this place were open at night, the lights would be beautiful to watch.
Glad that dogs are allowed here, my dog enjoyed our adventure. However, I’m hoping other dog owners will start picking up after their dogs. There is way too much dog poop on this trail.
Watch out for bikers coming downhill! Everyone is pretty nice and will warn you of their approach.
We did not go all the way to the top, but will do it next time! Definitely coming back here.

I’ve been up this fire road a few times on my mt bike over the years, it’s pretty much a training ride and really tough. If you start from the Kennedy road entrance, it’s about 4 miles to the top, 1800 ft verticle and is a consistent grade of 6−7%. At the top you can make a right which will drop you down to Lexington Res, from there you can take the trail to downtown Los Gatos for a drink. That is a loooong loop.
The trail is pretty much open fire road which is not very exciting from a mountain bikers perspective. There are a few places where it does get a little steep, which makes it very challenging on a bike.
On the plus side, there is spectacular views of the south bay area and of the Almaden valley. On a clear day, you can see 40+ miles towards SF and Oakland.
If your going on a hike here, bring some water and some energy bars or a banana or two. Sunscreen and sun glasses is a plus in the spring /​summer. Bring small binoculars to gaze out onto the valley at the many viewing opportunities along the trail
If you want to attempt this trail, go in the morning or very late in the afternoon. Other options for hiking that may be better is Almaden Quicksilver park. Not as steep and has tree cover for shade.

The park consists mainly of Oak and Chaparral type vegetation including Coast Live Oak, Bay Laurel, Coffeeberry, Manzanita, Mountain Mohagany, Toyon, etc.
It’s got a great climate due to the Los Gatos Creek running through, the Lexington Reservoir providing some humidity and the coastal breeze blowing through Hwy 17 from Santa Cruz. But don’t get me wrong… on top of the hill it can get pretty exposed.
It’s a great hike and killer on the knees.
Mountain biking round trip from downtown Los Gatos to the Reservoir, up the Woods Trail to the Kennedy Parking lot is brutal. There are about 15 steep climbs near the top that will knock you out.
There are plenty of trail options depending on your skill level. Bring lots of water and some snacks whether you’re hiking or biking. When you’re done, hit downtown Los Gatos for some grub!

At 17 000 acres Sierra Azul is the largest Open Space Preserve on the peninsula, and one of the best hiking spots in the foothills south of San Jose, as long as you don’t mind hiking on mostly dirt roads.
There are actually 3 different trailheads: one at Lexington Reservoir on the west, one at Hicks Rd in the east, and one on Kennedy Road in the north. From Hicks Rd to Lexington Reservoir is about 12 miles one way, so it would make for a pretty good car shuttle day hike. Note that you can’t camp in the preserve. Due to its size you can get a large variety of terrain here, from grassy hillsides to chaparral to some amazingly beautiful forested canyons.
You might also be interested to know that this is the location of Mt Umunhum, the mountain with the odd-​looking rectangle on top (it’s the remains of an old Air Force base). It sure does beckon you on, but unfortunately the summit is closed due, I believe, to an asbestos hazard. Maybe someday they’ll get around to cleaning the place up so people can go up there.