Back during the first week of June, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District opened their newest protected area, the Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve. Located a just under 15 miles from our apartment and with no other plans after a late lunch, my boyfriend and I decided to check it out a Sunday afternoon in late June.
Despite there only being a total of six miles of hiking trails, with the longest only 2.5 miles, we didn't go very far or stay too long. Still, I enjoyed the impromptu hike (more like a stroll) among the redwoods, maples, and firs.
Big Leaf Maple
There are a couple of open space organizations protecting special areas around the Bay Area. Bear Creek Redwoods is part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which has over 25 different protected areas. https://openspace.org/
The Open Space Authority of Santa Clara Valley has four protected spaces, with Coyote Ridge being a particularly important acquisition as valuable habitat for a few endemic species such as the California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. https://www.openspaceauthority.org/
The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has a few different programs that target important aspects of local conservation, such as public access, redwood forests, wildlife linkages, and farmland. Personally, I find their wildlife linkage program to be one of their most important projects. Santa Clara Valley is situated between the Diablo range and the Santa Cruz mountains, which come closest together at the southern limit of San Jose at an area known as Coyote Valley. In 2017, POST acquired over 90 acres of space in Coyote Valley, which serves as a critical wildlife corridor between the two mountain ranges and is used by species such as mountain lions, bobcats, Tule elk, badgers, and grey foxes. https://openspacetrust.org