Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves

3 Days and 2 Nights

Distance: 5.1 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 780 feet/810 feet

Trail Map

Russian Ridge is the northern end of several uninterrupted segments of the Ridge Trail which are in close proximity to a couple of the rare backpacking camps in the area. So I thought I would try to string them together into a 3 day trip which included an overnight in Black Mountain Backpack Camp in Monte Bello OSP and a second night in Castle Rock Trail Camp. Both camps require reservations and Black Mountain, being a much smaller camp, can sell out on weekends in the summer. The Castle Rock Trail Camp, however, is enormous and easier to reserve.

The total route for this trip started in Russian Ridge and ended in Sanborn County Park. Northbound vs Southbound was a difficult debate for me. I always prefer downhill, especially when carrying a heavy pack, but choosing the easier direction seemed a bit of a tossup. The steepest section is clearly the route through Sanborn park, and heading southbound would make that entirely downhill. It also meant the rest of the days would have more uphill on average. When considering direction for this hike, do not overlook the hike to Black Mountain Backpack Camp and back. We were cursing the person who decided to put a backpack camp on the top of the highest hill in Monte Bello. It was the most difficult climb of day 1 by far, and making that same climb on day 2 instead might have been more painful.

Russian Ridge is very exposed and is a stark contrast to the heavily wooded trails further north along the peninsula. It feels like a world apart from the redwood forests of Purisima Creek only ten miles north up Skyline Blvd. The weather apps had promised a very cool weekend in July when I reserved the campgrounds, but this would not be as promised. Instead, we were met with three very hot days, all in the high 90’s. This is definitely not a section you want to hike in the 90’s when carrying backpacking gear. In spring you can find poppies covering the hills, in summer it’s the tall, dry yellow grass.

The lack of trees provides excellent views, and Russian Ridge has this in both directions. Heading southbound, the trail begins with western views of seemingly endless open space as it rounds Mount Melville and Borel Hill. It then follows the ridgeline giving you an easterly view over Palo Alto, Mountain View and across the bay. Finally, the trail winds its way down to the parking lot at Alpine Road before crossing into Skyline Ridge OSP.

A tunnel under Alpine Road marks the transition from Russian Ridge to Skyline Ridge. We quickly dropped our packs in the cool shade of the tunnel and rested for some time before carrying on into Skyline Ridge.

In the northern end of Skyline Ridge you’ll find picnic tables and a nature center next to Alpine Pond. The center was closed when we passed, hours on the door stated it was only open on weekends. A water fountain outside was not providing water, so we moved on after a brief pause.

We followed Ipiwa Trail back into the trees for some much needed shade. The views continued to the west while Ipiwa Trail wound along the hillside in and out of short groves of trees.

Ipiwa Trail becomes plunges into the trees immediately after crossing Sunny Jim Trail, and continues downward until the Alpine Road and Skyline Ridge parking lot come into view, marking the end of this section.

Although this was the end of this section of the ridge trail, it was not the end of the hike for us. We still had another 2.5 difficult miles, including a nearly 1000 foot climb through Monte Bello OSP to Black Mountain Backpack Camp. This was off the ridge trail, so the following morning we would need to backtrack to the Skyline Ridge parking lot before resuming our southbound hike.

A map of this trail can be found here: Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves

Next segments:

Clockwise: Windy Hill (Coming Soon, next available El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve to Huddart County Park)

Counterclockwise: Saratoga Gap to Skyline Ridge (Coming Soon, next available Mussel Rock to Stern Grove)