WEEKLY WALKER

By Tom Davids

Hiking the San Juan Canyon

City of Belmont

"It is beneficial to walk through meadows, orchards, and woods with friends and companions, in flowering gardens where birds sing and nightingales are heard." Valesco of Taranta

Directions: Take Ralston Avenue to Cipriani. Go north on Cipriani and make an immediate left on San Juan Boulevard. After about a mile, San Juan Boulevard dead-ends at Laurel Creek Road. Turn left and park along the road. The trail starts at the unpaved continuation of East Laurel Creek Road. Access is also available off Marsten Avenue by turning off Ralston Avenue to Christian Drive and then to Marsten Avenue.

Grade: Easy. (Make that strenuous if you climb Sugarloaf Mountain.)

Distance: 1.5 mile. (Three to four miles if you include Sugarloaf.)

Time: One hour. (Three-plus including Sugarloaf and Laurelwood Park.)

Special Conditions: Dogs permitted on leash. Watch for poison oak off trail. Keep off private property where posted. For information on the preservation of San Juan Canyon as open space, contact San Juan Canyon Preservation Trust, P.O. Box 557, Belmont, CA 94002, or call 650-593-7295. The Web site is www.sanjuancanyon.org

Sugarloaf Mountain is visible to thousands of residents of Belmont and San Mateo, and many more regularly view the projecting land mass as they travel Ralston Avenue between Highway 92 and 101. It resembles a loaf of bread rising from deep canyons on all sides, and it's surprisingly devoid of development. So what's the story behind this open space oasis in the heart of the Mid-Peninsula?

Information from the Web site of the San Juan Preservation Trust (www.sanjuancanyon.org) reveals that in the early 1970s a plan existed to remove 90 feet from the top of Sugarloaf for a residential project. Apparently, the removed spoils would be dumped into the Bay, thereby creating another bayfill subdivision. This plan was defeated, but interest in residential development interest has continued, although on a less grandiose scale.

Several elements have stopped development of the area. In 1988, the City of San Mateo acquired Sugarloaf Mountain and joined it to Laurelwood Park for a 227-acre urban park and open space area. However, development of portions of the privately owned area through San Juan Canyon in the city of Belmont is still possible, although much of the land (96 percent) has been determined to be potentially or definitely unstable. In addition, a campaign was launched in 1998 to "Save the Canyon." The San Juan Canyon Preservation Trust was formed with non-profit status, and this group is now determining the best way to raise some $10 million to purchase the canyon property and preserve it as open space.

Hiking through San Juan Canyon is a step into the past. The unpaved continuation of East Laurel Creek Road parallels East Laurel Creek, which is mostly dry during the summer months. Along the way, notice the power pole line on your right. This line served a cabin occupied by a reclusive old lady in the 1960s. The story goes that she had 13 cats who inherited the house when she died. The house fell down, but an old refrigerator is still visible. And the cats? Nobody knows, but at least one pack of coyotes make the canyon their home, so if you walk your dog, we advise a leash.

The old woman's house is on your left. On your right are the remains of a horse corral, quickly built in the 1980s, but without a city permit and never used. The horse corral area is a meadow grassland that continues up the slopes of Sugarloaf. A little farther on is a junction with East Laurel Creek turning uphill, and the unimproved extension of Marsten Avenue straight ahead. We continued straight and reached Marsten Avenue in about 15 minutes. This is a pleasant, gradual climb with good views on your left and Ralston Avenue above. You can also view the remaining house and stable of the old Ralston Ranch. This area, once a large acreage horse ranch, was recently developed for new homes. The land along this part of the canyon is steep with questionable development potential. However, legal records will show that it is laid out with many small lots abutting paper streets on both sides of the canyon. I understand that titles to many of these lots were given as promotions or as gifts to special events--"Buy a ticket; the lucky winner gets a lot in San Juan Canyon." Reportedly, most of these lots continue to be in private ownership.

Hike back to the junction and turn left onto a moderately steep trail to the western saddle of Sugarloaf. From there, you can turn left and climb to Bishop Road. Turn right and climb to the top of Sugarloaf, or go straight into San Mateo's Laurelwood Park. We turned right and climbed a fire road to the top of Sugarloaf. This isn't a nice 10 percent, graded switchback trail, but a calorie burner in the range of 45 degrees. It is steep, but short and this time of year, quite pleasant with green grass and wildflowers to coax you on. At the top, the views are splendid in all directions. We continued east on the fire break until it stopped above homes on Viewridge Drive. Then we followed it north until it stopped again overlooking Laurelwood Drive. Retracing our way back to the top of Sugarloaf, we hiked down another firebreak to the main trail just north of the saddle. This trail passes under wide-spreading oaks and California buckeye along a drainage creek. Watch for a rusted car body in the creekbed and a bicycle obstacle course with jumps and dips in a grove of trees. Soon the path continues around a gate and into the south end of laurelwood Park. Ahead is a long grassy field, a couple of large oak trees with benches and picnic tables under the spreading branches, and a playground.

An interesting side walk is to walk through the grassy field and turn right on the main (paved) path. Continue a short distance to a flood control dam. Hike over the dam and return along the hillside, passing a steel observation tower (closed except for official use) before hiking through groves of trees and grassland with blooming wildflowers.

Check out the Web site for San Juan Canyon Preservation Trust for up-to-date information on their activities.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.

Footnote: Check out the Weekly Walker Web site at www.weeklywalker.com.