A good hiking place near the silicone valley. The trails are mostly shaded and pleasant to hike in summer months. Parking gets difficult because John Nicolas trail is very popular with bikers. Sometimes the trail gets narrow and both bikers and hikers have to be alert crossing each other. One can access the lake ranch reservoir from three directions. The lake has a lot of water right now.
We reserved a spot at a walk-in campground. Parked the car in the parking lot and used a cart to offload our gear to the reserved campsite. The campsites were nicely spaced out, offering plenty of privacy. There are many nearby trails. Plus it’s not crowded or noisy at all. Highly recommend! Restrooms were clean. Check in at 3pm or camping.
This is an amazing gem. I love the short trails. Perfect for little kids. But enough to see and plenty things to discover. Coming from Texas this is a very nice change. Toward the end of my visit, we got a special surprise from little dears. It was wonderful.
