Hiking Sierra Vista Open Space
Mar. 27th, 2026 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI've said it so many times and I'll keep on saying it. One of the things we like so much about living in the San Francisco Bay Area is the proximity to outdoors beauty. And by that I don't just mean that Yosemite is 4.5 hours away. Significant natural beauty is all around us. And a lot of it is protected as parks.
A week ago Thursday we made an impromptu trip to the Sierra Vista Open Space preserve above San Jose. Rather than head there via the shortest route we opted to drive around the back of the hills, driving up Calaveras Rd. from Milpitas, past Ed Levin County Park, to Felter Rd., to Sierra Rd.
There were views all the way on this mountainous drive. And it was wonderful to do it on a warm, sunny late morning in our convertible with the top down. The best views, not too surprisingly, were as we approached Sierra Vista. The photo above is from the road maybe a mile east of the park entrance. The next photo is from the edge of the parking lot.
Yes, this is a parking lot photo. I mean, I'm pointing my camera away from the parked cars. It's just that it's extra exciting to go to a park that offers fun hiking— plus fun even without hiking. When we texted a few pics to my mother-in-law, she lamented that she's in no condition to walk even 150' right now. (She's undergoing treatment for a serious illness.) At Sierra Vista one can enjoy this view just sitting on the bench 10 steps away from the parked cars.
There are even better views farther afield, of course. We did one of our usual routes partway down the ridge, out past a saddle, and to the next peak. I enjoy this route especially because of the way views over the whole of Silicon Valley reveal themselves as you round the bends. Out here I always think of the song 🎵 Do You Know the Way to San Jose 🎵.
Part of what motivated us to visit this particular park is wildflower blooms. Speaking of songs, 🎵 It's the Time of the Season 🎵 for them. We'd just traveled hundreds of miles the week before to see wildflowers in Antelope Valley and at Carrizo Plain. We figured we check out places much closer to home on Thursday.
Although it's the right time of the season, this year's bloom isn't huge. We saw several small patches of California poppies (the showy orange/yellow flower above) and other wildflowers. But the hills were not carpeted with them like they are once every few years in a super-bloom.
Soon enough it was time to head back. Although this photo (above) shows a long, gentle uphill climb it was tougher than it looks. It was tough because a week ago we were having record-setting heat. I drank all the water I carried with me on this trail and then sucked down another 500ml bottle as soon as we got to the car. It's good we keep several spares in the car!
A week ago Thursday we made an impromptu trip to the Sierra Vista Open Space preserve above San Jose. Rather than head there via the shortest route we opted to drive around the back of the hills, driving up Calaveras Rd. from Milpitas, past Ed Levin County Park, to Felter Rd., to Sierra Rd.
There were views all the way on this mountainous drive. And it was wonderful to do it on a warm, sunny late morning in our convertible with the top down. The best views, not too surprisingly, were as we approached Sierra Vista. The photo above is from the road maybe a mile east of the park entrance. The next photo is from the edge of the parking lot.
Yes, this is a parking lot photo. I mean, I'm pointing my camera away from the parked cars. It's just that it's extra exciting to go to a park that offers fun hiking— plus fun even without hiking. When we texted a few pics to my mother-in-law, she lamented that she's in no condition to walk even 150' right now. (She's undergoing treatment for a serious illness.) At Sierra Vista one can enjoy this view just sitting on the bench 10 steps away from the parked cars.
There are even better views farther afield, of course. We did one of our usual routes partway down the ridge, out past a saddle, and to the next peak. I enjoy this route especially because of the way views over the whole of Silicon Valley reveal themselves as you round the bends. Out here I always think of the song 🎵 Do You Know the Way to San Jose 🎵.
Part of what motivated us to visit this particular park is wildflower blooms. Speaking of songs, 🎵 It's the Time of the Season 🎵 for them. We'd just traveled hundreds of miles the week before to see wildflowers in Antelope Valley and at Carrizo Plain. We figured we check out places much closer to home on Thursday.
Although it's the right time of the season, this year's bloom isn't huge. We saw several small patches of California poppies (the showy orange/yellow flower above) and other wildflowers. But the hills were not carpeted with them like they are once every few years in a super-bloom.
Soon enough it was time to head back. Although this photo (above) shows a long, gentle uphill climb it was tougher than it looks. It was tough because a week ago we were having record-setting heat. I drank all the water I carried with me on this trail and then sucked down another 500ml bottle as soon as we got to the car. It's good we keep several spares in the car!
