Walk along the Skyline
"Of all exercises, walking is the
best." - Thomas Jefferson
Directions: From
Interstate 280 take Woodside Road west through the town of Woodside for about
one-half mile. Turn right on Kings Mountain Road, then 4.8 miles to the
trailhead. Or Skyline Boulevard to Kings Mountain Road, then one-quarter mile
east to trailhead.
Grade: Easy.
Approximately 300-foot elevation gain.
Distance: 10 miles round
trip.
Time: Four hours round
trip.
Special Conditions:
Watch for poison oak at northern quarter of trail. No dogs. No water or
restrooms. Just great hiking. managed by the San Mateo County Parks and
Recreation Department (650) 363-4020.
Connecting Huddart and Wunderlich
county parks, this trail provides a pleasant afternoon hike. The trail is well
graded, almost level, and especially fine for the beginning walker or for
introducing your out-of-town guests to the beauty and diversity of the Santa
Cruz Mountain range. This is a trail of contrasts—wide, open views and deep
closed-in ravines, dry oak woodland, and damp redwood forest. Near the south
end, new growth redwood and fir tower over large redwood stumps, which remind
us that during the mid-1980s this forest supplied lumber to build San Francisco
and other bayside communities. In a gentler way, the coastal Indians also used
the tree by digging up the strong roots, stripping off the fiber, and using it
as a thread to make baskets.
Start this hike at the Kings
Mountain Road trailhead (parking is alongside the road), although you may also
start from Skyline Boulevard three miles north of La Honda Road where the
Skyline Trail enters Wunderlich Park.
After a gentle ascent through a
cool, second-growth redwood forest, the terrain opens up to a sunny, dry ridge
of chapparal. Sage, buckbrush, and manzanita are common in the short section
before the trail doubles back into the cool forest of tall trees.
As you start to hike, watch for an
example of the sandstone formation called tafoni on the uphill slope. We first
discovered this interesting formation at Corte Madera Preserve. Moisture
continues to eat away at the poorly bonded interior of the rock, while the
hardened exterior holds its own against the elements.
The path now winds through the
forest in a westerly direction until it intersects with a short spur trail to
Skeggs Road. Continue on the main trail, and you will soon pass through a
recently-cut redwood tree trunk almost six feet in diameter, which fell and has
begun its mandate to replenish the Earth. We didn't stop to count the rings,
but the tree probably predates Columbus.
You are now hiking parallel to but
visually below Skyline Boulevard. Even so, you will hear the buzz of traffic
from time to time as the trail undulates from ridge to ravine.
As you wind in and out, the
topography of the watershed becomes clear. The ravines are close to Skyline
ridge, which runs north and south, and the ridges radiate in an easterly
direction. We counted 15 ridges from the Skeggs Road spur to Wunderlich Park,
and some ridge points gave us good views to the South Bay and the East Bay
hills.
After about two hours of hiking, the
Clara May Lazarus bench comes into view. Dedicated to the memory of a trail
advocate by the Sierra Club, this bench is a good place to rest or eat lunch.
Farther on, as you near the Wunderlich Park trailhead, you will notice large
stumps from the redwood logging days of the mid-1800s. Look sharp for a large
stump surrounded by second growth redwoods on the up-slope. Beyond it you can catch
a glimpse of the 2,000-year-old Methuselah Tree. Continuing on, you will soon
skirt a new home built off Bear Gulch Road. From there the trail switches back
four times to Bear Gulch Road and four more to the Skyline trailhead. The
Skyline Trail continues south through Wunderlich Park to Skylonda.
If you have time and energy for an
additional five miles or so, take the Skyline Trail to the Crossroads and
return along Alambique Trail to the Skyline trailhead and retrace your steps.
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