Dedicated: May 30, 2025
14.1 Miles
On a beautiful morning in late May, the sun spilled over the ridgelines, lighting up wild grasses and casting long shadows across the trail. At the Casa Loma Staging Area, hikers, cyclists, equestrians, and community members gathered to celebrate a milestone nearly three years in the making: the dedication of a spectacular 14.1-mile section of the Ridge Trail in Santa Clara County—one of the largest stretches ever to be added to the Ridge Trail network at once.
This new route winds through the rolling beauty of Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve and Calero County Park, offering panoramic views of the Diablo Range to the east and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west.
The celebration brought together partners whose vision made this dedication possible: State Senator Dave Cortese; Patrick McGarity representing Supervisor Sylvia Arenas; Todd Lofgren of Santa Clara County Parks; Virgilio Cuasay of the State Coastal Conservancy; Andrea Mackenzie of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority; and Janet McBride of the Ridge Trail. Mackenzie summed it up perfectly: milestones like this are “fueled by collaboration, thoughtful stewardship, and a shared vision for equitable access to nature.”
The journey to this point began with a route study, generously funded by the WoodNext Foundation and the State Coastal Conservancy. Ridge Trail staff and partners analyzed 46 possible trail alternatives, ultimately mapping a bold 31-mile planned route from Mount Madonna to Almaden Quicksilver County Park. This newly dedicated segment completes 40% of that re-route—extending the Ridge Trail into one of the most remote and least developed parts of the Bay Area.
Santa Clara County hosts more Ridge Trail miles—current and planned—than any other county in the Bay Area, and more are on the horizon. The next step: extending the trail further south through a yet-to-be-opened part of Rancho Cañada del Oro, in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and supported by the Ridge Trail Action Fund. As Supervisor Arenas reminded us, this is “more than just recreation—it’s about connecting families to open space, neighborhoods to nature, and our communities to each other.”
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