Yesterday we organized a Christmas Eve hike in Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.
via flickr
Windy Hill is a park bounded by Portola Road and Skyline Boulevard, and the hike we went on took us from the former to the latter. There are parking lots on Portola and Skyline. We followed the Ridge Trail to Spring Ridge, and hiked it to the top of the park.
via flickr
It’s one of the few parks that allows both dogs and horses, so we saw a fair number of each.
via flickr
It also turned out to be rather kid-friendly, though it helped that there was a whole pack of kids. Of all the things you can take to keep kids from complaining during a hike, buddies are the most important.
via flickr
Unlike the ridge parks, where any trail will have lots of uphill and downhill, these are one way: either you’re headed up to Skyline, or down to Portola Road.
via flickr
The view from the summit is really great, though there are lots of good views of the valley and East Bay as you go.
via flickr
