This afternoon, I took a tour through the forested Sanborn County Park, located off Highway 9 west of Saratoga. After less than a half an hour’s drive from downtown San Jose, I stood on a pristine dirt trail with enormous redwood trees shooting above my head.Sanborn County Park offers the only walk-in campground in the entire county park system. Other campgrounds allow visitors to drive directly to the campsite. At Sanborn, campers park their cars at the main park entrance and hike along the park’s extensive trail system for a quieter camping experience.
Even with Sanborn’s 19 miles of trails, some areas of the park are hard to reach without driving to a different park entrance. County Parks and Recreation Department Director Lisa Killough and several parks planners showed me where they will connect Sunnyvale Mountain in the southwest corner of the park to the Lake Ranch Reservoir to the east.
Completing this trail, purchasing land for new trails, and extending existing trails will nearly double the miles of pathways in the park. Hikers will be able to use 38 miles of trails, all within a half-hour drive from San Jose.
Many of these trails connect to trails in adjacent parks in San Mateo County and nearby state parks, adding even more opportunities for recreation. I hope you get a chance to experience Sanborn’s beautiful greenery.
