The areas surrounding Menlo Park present extraordinary opportunities to connect with nature and witness Northern California’s dramatic scenery. With options to suit all skill levels and preferences, the trails of the peninsula range from exhilarating treks in the Santa Cruz Mountains to leisurely strolls through sylvan forests and rolling meadows.
This undeveloped, forested park in Woodside is just a 15-minute drive from the hotel. Set out on a four-mile loop through oaks and madrone trees, redwood forest and open meadows. You can stop to rest and recharge at Alambique Creek.
Traverse the ridgeline on a narrow footpath through a sheltered forest to rolling grasslands. After an initial descent, you’ll gain 234 feet on a gradual climb to the knobs of Windy Hill, a peninsula landmark. Expect sweeping views of the San Mateo Coast and Santa Clara Valley as well as occasional winds and coastal fog.
Covered with redwood forests and a lush understory of ferns, this hilly park offers a cool climate all year long. If you hike up into the park’s higher elevations, you will reach meadows filled with wildflowers in the spring. The trailhead is approximately 20 minutes from hotel.
A historic road of singular beauty extends for six miles through the San Francisco Watershed lands past the sparkling lakes of San Andreas and Crystal Springs. At 12 miles round-trip, this easy, flat trail is paved, marked at half-mile intervals, and open to hikers, skaters and cyclists.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Picchetti is one of the many wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains. On the winery's grounds, you can enjoy a three-mile round-trip amble through vineyards, orchards, oaks and chaparral to shady Stevens Creek. Afterwards, reward yourself with a wine tasting in the winery's rustic tasting room or bring along a picnic lunch to enjoy outdoors. The winery, which is open most days, is located 30 minutes from the hotel.
The city of Mountain View looks out to Black Mountain, which Italian settlers called Monte Bello. You can set out on a four-hour, five-mile loop through grasslands and oaks to the mountain top (elevation gain: 700 feet) for stunning views of Silicon Valley, or cover an easier three-mile circuit in under three hours. Just past the trailhead, which is located 25 minutes from the hotel, you can look down into the valley formed by the infamous San Andreas Fault.
