Parker Ranch Trail 2015-01-26

Trail Head, Prospect Rd.

Parker Ranch trail is in the City of Saratoga. You can access it from Prospect Road, very close to the Prospect/Stelling Road intersection. Plenty of roadside parking is available. The trail itself meanders through the Parker Ranch residential neighborhood. You’ll get to see several backyards and will have to use neighborhood streets to move between portions of the trail. 

Steep grass hill

The urban setting shouldn’t dissuade anyone looking for a nice rugged trail with panoramic views. It is also possible to do a loop rather than going out and back. Since Parker Ranch trail connects to Fremont Older, you have the option of making this as easy or hard as you want. We started off from Prospect Road, passing through a few backyards. Right away, you will come upon a steep grass hill. If you aren't out of breath by the time you are on top of the hill, you are in excellent physical shape. 

View from top of the grass hill

Once you reach the top of the hill, you are treated to an excellent view of the urban landscape of the cities of Saratoga, San Jose, Cupertino, and beyond.  Parker Ranch may be located in an urban setting, but the trail is moderately difficult. You will continue from this point climbing up and down the hills until you come to Continental Circle. Bear right and walk in Continental Circle until you connect to the trail again on your left.

You’ll get to see a beautiful grass knoll climbing down the hill and get an opportunity to rest your feet on the park bench located in this stretch. Apollo didn’t need any rest, but posed for a photo at my bidding nevertheless. You will exit on Star Ridge Ct and will have to walk few yards on Picea Ct to catch the next section of the trail.

Right after entering the trail from Picea Ct, you have the option of looping back to Prospect Road, or walking ahead all the way to Fremont Older Open Preserve. The Fremont Older entrance is about half a mile from this turnaround point. Steeped in Silicon Valley culture, I decided to go the extra mile and continued on. In this section, you’ll see plenty of evidence of equestrian activity, which shouldn't be a surprise as the entrance to Fremont Older is right by Garrod Farms.

The trail was predominantly uphill all the way from where we started. We turned around at this point with the promise of a downhill hike back. You’ll have an excellent view of Fremont Older Open Preserve and if you are familiar with it, you can also spot Hunter's Point, the second highest point there. Jogging gently, we were able to improve the overall speed from 3.1 mph to 3.4 mph by the end. Remember to bear left at the point when trail loops back so you can go back by a different path. You’ll have the Saratoga Country Club golf course on your left before coming upon Parker Ranch Ct. Bear left here and walk on Parker Ranch Rd until you get to catch the last leg of the trail. This is a small section, but there are some magnificent trees and a beautiful cacti plant to see if you choose to do this bit as well. You’ll emerge from Prospect Road. Bear right to the trail head and where you probably parked your car.

Parker Ranch is a nice trail that is moderately difficult. This is not the first time we've hiked this trail. But I noticed that the City of Saratoga has made it more dog friendly by making available dog scoops at three points: the trail head at Prospect Rd, right before the grass hill climb, and when you re-enter the trail from Continental Cir. Thank you, Saratoga!

Here is a link to Parker Ranch trail from the City of Saratoga website. 

Update 2015-05-07
Did a 2.8 mile hike loop today with Jaya and Apollo. Between the end of January and early May, the significant difference is in how brown the grass and shrubs were. 

More pictures from the hike!
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