Alpine Trail (Trailhead) — Attraction in Portola Valley

Today just short walk the trail to get familiar with the parking situation and the general scene of the trail. There is one roadside parking lot for 10 cars. If lot is full, turn right on next street. There are more street parking for another 10 cars. I plan to hike razorback trail in the near future and will write review with photos at that time. Note that no dog and bike allowed on trails around here. December 10 I took a 5.2 mile loop, started with Toyon to Lake trail. Someone hang a swing looking over the small ravine along Toyon. Very relaxing. Lake trail passes a near empty lake as 2020 endure a severe drought. Then took Old Spanish trail. Note that there is another swing with a nice chair near the trail junction. Good for taking break. Continue to Buck meadow trail, walk along the beautiful Buck meadow Rd then turn into Blue oak trail then Deer path trail back to Alpine trail head. It's about 5.2 loop, nice...

Went here on Saturday at 5:30pm and easily found a few spots on the roadside parking. Took the Toyon trail till it meets the Coalmine Ridge trail and Old Spanish trail, then came back via the Old Spanish trail, 4 miles total. Toyon trail is pretty narrow at quite a few places, but the Old Spanish trail is rather wide. No vista point offering any great views along this route but the trail is pretty easy and shaded for the most part. Encountered a rattle snake, 5 ft long, right off the trail, and slowly coiled up under a small tree. This was the first such sighting for us and made the hike very memorable. We took a break further down the trail and the hiker that passed by us mentioned the snake and apparently the had started...

I had visit this park on January/6/2021. There is roadside parking, it can be relatively tricky, it has around 10 spots. My hike was a loop, 5 miles, 750 feet of elevation gain. I started out with Toyon Trail, Old Spanish Trail, and Coal Mine Ridge. Note that no dog and bike allowed on trails, also its well maintained. Scenery is amazing and trails are good condition. Some parts of Toyon Trail are narrow. It has 2 swings, few benches, couple lookout, and small ponds. Very peaceful area with plenty of shady and not too crowded, it was a bit muddy after rain. Also tons of other trails that links together in the park. it has wonderful views of Windy Hill, Stanford Universities,...