When Sunday, October 11, 2009. 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 Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA. There is no parking fee. More park info can be found here.

Monte Bello OSP is located on Page Mill Road, approximately 7.2 miles west of I-280. There are several parking lots. We meet in the lot on the left/South side of Page Mill Road - Google Map.

What A long (about 10.1 miles) and an intermediate run (about 5.9 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 runner's potluck after the run, so please bring food or drink to share. You might also consider bringing a lawn chair to help rest those tired feet after the run.

Why We will run gentle up-hill trails to the top of Black Mountain and enjoy the 360 degree vistas, then run through shaded canyons on the beautiful Stevens Creek Nature Trail. We last ran Monte Bello in Feb '06, so it's been a while since we have enjoyed this remarkably scenic and varied location. Quoting the preserve's web page, "... one of the District's richest in wildlife and ecosystem diversity. .... The ... corridor is considered to be one of the finest in the Santa Cruz Mountains." As another point of interest, we will be running over and on the San Andreas fault.

More Info Contact or .

An online map of the Monte Bello OSP can be found on the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's Monte Bello page.

We have annotated the OSP map with our trail run directions. Copies of the annotated map will be available at the run and can also be downloaded here.

All distances are approximate.

Intermediate Run: 5.9 miles
SEGMENT	MILES	TOTAL
South out of parking lot (by kiosk) on Stevens Creek Nature Trail (SCNT)	0.1	0.1
Straight on SCNT "To Canyon Trail" (don't go R "To Skid Road Trail")	0.1	0.2
R on SCNT after passing through wood post horse barrier	0.2	0.4
R on Canyon Trail (fire trail)	0.2	0.6
L on Bella Vista Trail	0.8	1.4
R on Old Ranch Trail	0.5	1.9
R on Monte Bello Road (fire trail) to just before backpack camp	0.1	2.0
R where sign (on right -- not on left) points to Indian Creek Trail	0.1	2.1
L on Indian Creek Trail (do not go down to the R)	0.2	2.3
R on Monte Bello Road (fire trail) to summit	0.2	2.5
Long Run splits off here.
Turn around and backtrack on Monte Bello Road (keep left)	0.2	2.7
L on Indian Creek Trail (keep left "To Canyon Trail")	1.2	3.9
R on Canyon Trail	0.3	4.2
L on SCNT	0.6	4.8
R on SCNT (do not continue straight to Skid Row Trail)	1.0	5.8
L at T-junction on SCNT heading back to parking lot	0.1	5.9
Long Run: 10.1 miles
SEGMENT	MILES	TOTAL
South out of parking lot (by kiosk) on Stevens Creek Nature Trail (SCNT)	0.1	0.1
Straight on SCNT "To Canyon Trail" (don't go R "To Skid Road Trail")	0.1	0.2
R on SCNT after passing through wood post horse barrier	0.2	0.4
R on Canyon Trail (fire trail)	0.2	0.6
L on Bella Vista Trail	0.8	1.4
R on Old Ranch Trail	0.5	1.9
R on Monte Bello Road (fire trail) to just before backpack camp	0.1	2.0
R where sign (on right -- not on left) points to Indian Creek Trail	0.1	2.1
L on Indian Creek Trail (do not go down to the R)	0.2	2.3
R on Monte Bello Road (fire trail) to summit	0.2	2.5
Intermediate Run turns back here.
Continue on Monte Bello Road (paved for last .25 miles after gate)	1.7	4.2
R thru (another) gate and take Waterwheel Creek Trail	1.5	5.7
L onto Monte Bello Road back to summit and beyond (keep left)	1.2	6.9
L on Indian Creek Trail (keep left "To Canyon Trail")	1.2	8.1
R on Canyon Trail	0.3	8.4
L on SCNT	0.6	9.0
R on SCNT (do not continue straight to Skid Row Trail)	1.0	10.0
L at T-junction on SCNT heading back to parking lot	0.1	10.1