Fremont Older Open Space Preserve — Attraction in Cupertino

Wonderful open space that's also dog, bike & horse friendly. A gem in this area. Moderately hilly to get your heart pumping, and in exhange, provides nice views of the South Bay. Could be easy to get confused about trails even with GMap guidance, but what's a few extra steps among friends?!

The Seven Springs area is lower and often subject to muddy conditions. It's better to "stay high." Parking lot at the Prospect entrance gets busy during weekend mornings. We arrived around noon and saw several groups depart, so we lucked out with easy parking. But you can easily wind up walking an extra 1/4 mile on narrow access road to the trail head.

Porta-potty at the Prospect parking lot. No water,...

Fremont Older is a great local hike in the Saratoga/Cupertino area. There are switchbacks at the start, then it levels off a bit then you climb again to get to the summit. There is a bench at the summit. You will get views all the way the the SF Bay and across San Jose to the east bay. On the way down take the path on the right to go through the Fremont Older ruins. It is shady and "the path least taken" but the part I love most.Negatives are insufficient parking for the amount of traffic. Also you have to share the path with runners and bikers, and at times is quite busy. But those annoyances fall way when you are rewarded with...

Fremont Older Mid-Pen Park along with the attached Stevens Creek County Park provide extensive (10 - 12 miles) hiking, biking and equestrian possibilities with moderate elevation gain. All without being crowded like Rancho San Antonio. In fact, during "off hours", many trails feel deserted.

Note that during wet weather the higher trails become sticky with wet clay and are to be avoided.

The Stevens Creek entrance near the damn always has more than adequate parking and includes toilets and picnic facilities, however this entrance requires a county parking fee or a...