This month we will be running on Long Ridge high above Palo Alto. We will enjoy views of the Peninsula, Bay, and Santa Cruz Mountains.
When Sunday, October 7, 2007. Meet at 8:15am for an 8:30am start. Carpool will leave at 7:45am from the Park & Ride Lot at Page Mill Road and Highway 280.
Where Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, Skyline Blvd., Palo Alto, CA. We will start the run from the Skyline Ridge OSP parking lot, which is the same starting point as for the Skyline Ridge OSP trail run last January. There is no parking fee.
More park info can be found here.
How to get there Go west on Page Mill Road to Skyline Boulevard. Turn left onto Skyline Boulevard and drive approximately 1 mile south to the entrance of Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve parking lot, which will be on the right side of Skyline Boulevard. The runners will meet in the lot to the right of the common driveway.
Google Maps estimated drive time is 26 minutes from the Park & Ride.
What A long (about 11.2 miles) and an intermediate run (either 5.8 miles or 7.3 miles). This is a remote trail run and each runner must carry at least one water bottle. To avoid having to search for lost runners we ask every runner to find other runners of approximately the same running ability to form a group. The runners in each group must be able to account for their partners to make sure nobody is lost. As usual, there will be a potluck after the run, so please bring food or drink to share.
Why Long Ridge offers a remarkably varied landscape that includes ridge vistas into valleys and to the ocean. Both runs will have trails in dense forests and in open grasslands. The long run will turn around at the so called Turtle Rock.
The first and last part of the run are in
Skyline Ridge OSP. But most of the run is thru
Long Ridge OSP. We will have a copy of the maps available for the run. All distances are approximate.
| Short Run: 7.3 miles (or 5.8 miles) |
| SEGMENT | MILES | TOTAL |
| Parking Lot to Horseshoe Lake Loop Trail | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| R around southern side of Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| R on trail to Christmas Tree Farm | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Follow "Trail" sign posts through Tree Farm | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Continue on Ridge Trail to Long Ridge OSP | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| L on Peters Creek Trail * | 0.4 | 3.3 |
| R (almost 180 degrees) toward Long Ridge Trail ** | 0.4 | 3.7 |
| R on Long Ridge Trail | 0.7 | 4.4 |
| L on Ridge Trail | 1.8 | 6.2 |
| Follow "Trail" sign posts through Tree Farm | 0.3 | 6.5 |
| Back to Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 6.8 |
| L around southern side of Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 7.1 |
| L back to parking lot. | 0.2 | 7.3 |
| *turn around here for a 5.8 mile short run |
| **long and short runs split here |
| Long Run: 11.2 miles |
| SEGMENT | MILES | TOTAL |
| Parking Lot to Horseshoe Lake Loop Trail | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| R around southern side of Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| R on trail to Christmas Tree Farm | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Follow "Trail" sign posts through Tree Farm | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Continue on Ridge Trail to Long Ridge OSP | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| L on Peters Creek Trail | 1.6 | 4.5 |
| L on Long Ridge Road to Hickory Oaks Trail | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| L on Hickory Oaks Trail | 0.5 | 5.3 |
| Loop on Hickory Oaks Trail | 0.2 | 5.5 |
| Back on Hickory Oaks Trail | 0.5 | 6.0 |
| R on Long Ridge Road | 1.6 | 7.6 |
| L on Long Ridge Trail | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| L on Ridge Trail | 1.8 | 10.1 |
| Follow "Trail" sign posts through Tree Farm | 0.3 | 10.4 |
| Back to Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 10.7 |
| L around southern side of Horseshoe Lake | 0.3 | 11.0 |
| L back to parking lot. | 0.2 | 11.2 |
