Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve

Great views: ocean on one side and bay on the other. Plenty of wildflowers in spring (May). Grassland, ancient oak trees, and forests. Newts in raining season. Watch for cyclists occasionally, most are nice enough.

It was a beautiful hike on a rainy cold day. The terrain is not that difficult with some uphill climbing and downhill movement. One can hike long distances depending upon which trail one chooses. The trails are mostly wide open with little shade, but at certain trails you can expect to see redwood forests. Due to the recent storms, fallen trees are found in many places and walking past them could be difficult at this moment. However, this should not be any problem in the future when the trails are cleared out. Overall a nice hike or walk.

Visited on 2022.sept.19 after a rain. This is a place with the good view of south Bay Area, ocean and mountains. You can always find some good cloud and enjoy peaceful sunset. There are many deer running around.

I spent a morning hiking around the north east quadrant of the reserve. The Russian Ridge preserve parking area provided a great central post for parking to access the trails to the preserve. It also provided great access to the Skyline Ridge which I spent the afternoon hiking around.
The Ridge Trail was mostly exposed ridge line with easy to moderate grade with a wide berth for large parties of hikers, biking and horse back riding. Most of the hills were golden with all the flowers long gone for the Summer. I imagine this trail would be bursting with colors in early Spring.
I turned off the Ridge Trail through the Charquin Trail to connect with the Ancient Oaks Trail. This was where the landscape changed to a thick over story of Oaks with plenty of cover from the sun. There were plenty of birds singing along the trails and I could imagine there was much more life beyond what I could see and hear. I connected back to the parking area and continued on towards Skyline Ridge.
My next journey here i hope to navigate towards the top of Mindego Hill Trail which is an additional 3 miles one way from the intersection of the Ancient Oaks and Carquin trails.
Overall the Preserve is a great place for all kinds of outdoor activities. I suggest bringing some sun screen or a hat for the exposed parts. Enjoy and don't forget to say Hello to those you see on the trail.
I am grateful for all the preserved Open Space!!

This is an all time favorite for me. The views are amazing. Alpine flowers in the spring, fields of tall grasses, all sorts of birds, vultures, birds of pray. I’ve seen deer, snakes and coyotes up there. There’s usually maps available, and a number of different routes to take. Russian Ridge is a gem.