Bay Area Ridge Trail: Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve to Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

Travel through moist evergreen forests, oak–madrone woodlands, and high grasslands along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. You experience stunning coastal mountain views on this route through three open-space preserves and one county park. Trail width and surface varies from narrow paths to wide roads—soft in forests and along creekbeds, and firm and bare through grasslands. Be prepared for wind and fog on exposed ridgetops, and for heat on west- and south-facing slopes.

(This trail description is excerpted from the 2019 Guidebook. For details on all trails, trailheads, and more, buy the book from Wilderness Press. For more resources to plan your trip, visit our Trail Tools page.)