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Santa Teresa Park Hike 4/14/23 Pt. 1: Stile Ranch Trail by Ronald Horii
The Stile Ranch Trail in Santa Teresa County Park is one of the best wildflower trails in the County. I've been to it several times this year. This was on 3/8/23: https://tinyurl.com/8bnuj36z. The wildflowers were starting to bloom. This was on 3/31/23: https://tinyurl.com/3ucj3ycw. There were more flowers in bloom, but they hadn't peaked. On both dates, the trails were closed to bikes and horses. After the rains, the trails were muddy. The first part of the Stile Ranch Trail is rocky, so I hiked it only up to the start of the first valley, before it starts to get muddy. On 4/14/23, I came back again. After a couple of sunny weeks, the flowers appear to be in full bloom, especially the poppies. This is one of the best poppy blooms I've ever seen here. Unlike the March hikes, I hiked the whole Stile Ranch Trail to the Mine and Fortini Trails. The whole trail loop is about 2.5 miles. The trails were open to everyone, so there were some bikes on the trail. The Mine and Fortini Trails are covered in Part 2: https://tinyurl.com/mxuxye9r. Note that the pictures in these 2 albums were taken with my mirrorless camera, an Olympus OMD E-M10, unlike the earlier albums. It does a better job focusing on wildflowers. Here are past pictures of Santa Teresa Park: http://www.stpfriends.org/#newpictures. The Friends of Santa Teresa Park will be hosting a hike on the Stile Ranch, Mine, and Fortini Trails on May 13 at 9:00, starting at the Stile Ranch/Fortini trailhead. It will be a history and late-season wildflower hike. This is from the last time it was held: https://tinyurl.com/yynn67pk. Here's more information about Santa Teresa Park, including a map: https://parks.sccgov.org/santa-clara-county-parks/santa-teresa-county-park. The Stile Ranch Trail is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail network. Here's a map of the Ridge Trail that includes Santa Teresa Park and connecting trails: https://ridgetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2022_SantaClara_SantaTeresaandCaleroLosAlamitosCreeks.pdf
The Stile Ranch Trail in Santa Teresa County Park is one of the best wildflower trails in the County. I've been to it several times this year. This was on 3/8/23: https://tinyurl.com/8bnuj36z. The wildflowers were starting to bloom. This was on 3/31/23: https://tinyurl.com/3ucj3ycw. There were more flowers in bloom, but they hadn't peaked. On both dates, the trails were closed to bikes and horses. After the rains, the trails were muddy. The first part of the Stile Ranch Trail is rocky, so I hiked it only up to the start of the first valley, before it starts to get muddy. On 4/14/23, I came back again. After a couple of sunny weeks, the flowers appear to be in full bloom, especially the poppies. This is one of the best poppy blooms I've ever seen here. Unlike the March hikes, I hiked the whole Stile Ranch Trail to the Mine and Fortini Trails. The whole trail loop is about 2.5 miles. The trails were open to everyone, so there were some bikes on the trail. The Mine and Fortini Trails are covered in Part 2: https://tinyurl.com/mxuxye9r. Note that the pictures in these 2 albums were taken with my mirrorless camera, an Olympus OMD E-M10, unlike the earlier albums. It does a better job focusing on wildflowers. Here are past pictures of Santa Teresa Park: http://www.stpfriends.org/#newpictures. The Friends of Santa Teresa Park will be hosting a hike on the Stile Ranch, Mine, and Fortini Trails on May 13 at 9:00, starting at the Stile Ranch/Fortini trailhead. It will be a history and late-season wildflower hike. This is from the last time it was held: https://tinyurl.com/yynn67pk. Here's more information about Santa Teresa Park, including a map: https://parks.sccgov.org/santa-clara-county-parks/santa-teresa-county-park. The Stile Ranch Trail is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail network. Here's a map of the Ridge Trail that includes Santa Teresa Park and connecting trails: https://ridgetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2022_SantaClara_SantaTeresaandCaleroLosAlamitosCreeks.pdf
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