Edgewood Park Old Stage Road-Sylvan Trail Hike
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, 10 Old Stage Coach Road (off Edgewood Road), Redwood City, CA 94062
Starting Point: We started our hike from the Old Stage Coach Road main parking area.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve information link (County of San Mateo):
https://www.smcgov.org/parks/edgewood-park-natural-preserve
Edgewood Park Trails map link (County of San Mateo):
https://www.smcgov.org/parks/edgewood-park-trails
Visit Edgewood Park information link (Friends of Edgewood):
https://friendsofedgewood.org/visit-edgewood-park
Distance:
There are many options for trails and varied distance hikes at Edgewood Park. The hike featured in the photo gallery here covered a loop of a little over two miles ascending Old Stage Road, then taking the Serpentine Trail to the Sylvan Trail which took us back to the park entrance.
Considerations:
• The parking lot can fill up on weekends, and roadside parking is limited.
• Pick up a brochure/trail map at the parking area if you’re not familiar with the trails.
• There are toilet facilities near the picnic area by the park entrance, and also in the visitor center when it’s open.
• Dressing in layers, using sun protection, and having water are advised for any hike.
• Pay attention to health, safety and wildlife notices.
• Hikers, runners, and horses are allowed on certain trails. Follow notices.
• No dogs/pets allowed.
• There is poison oak in this area. A scrub like Tecnu is helpful if there is contact with skin.
The trail:
We started out with a visit to the education center/visitor center, which has limited hours but is usually open on weekends. The staff person was very informative about the rare Bay Checkerspot butterfly, whose habitat is being restored here.
We chose to start our hike with the steep part, which meant chugging up Old Stage Road. It’s enough of an incline over enough distance to be somewhat challenging for some walkers. It’s a lovely walk rising up through tree coverage toward open space, where the forest feeling switches to a grassy prairie feel.
There are some lovely oak trees that stand iconically at a distance, as well as those in closer quarters while hiking through the tree cover. The open areas feature distant views of the bay.
Patches of serpentine rock stand out in the flat stretches. The grass was still green on our late spring visit, but some was turning to an orange red, making for a painterly look to the landscape. Our summer hikes at Edgewood Park have been highlighted by the pale blonde grass coloring that comes during dry season, but we came in May this time to enjoy seeing wildflowers.
We saw several varieties of wildflower, none of which I could easily identify other than California poppies. We saw many lizards skittering along the trail, and stopped to watch birds perched on rocks as we went through the serpentine rock areas.
I love a scenic wooden fence on a trail, and Edgewood Park has many of these on offer. They invite the eye to follow them, pulling hikers along their visual lines. Fences standing starkly in open places have their own special ambience, but as we hiked down into the Sylvan Trail, we also found aesthetically pleasing fence lines under tree cover.
There was a short stretch of trail featuring manzanita, or maybe it was madrone trees. I have a difficult time distinguishing between these two trees with their fascinating reddish smooth bark.
We have visited Edgewood Park several times in different seasons, and usually find ourselves on the same trail loop. Next time we’ll try a different trail with a higher ridge view. Happy hiking!
(Edgewood Park Old Stage Road-Sylvan Trail Hike Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Fences” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, 10 Old Stage Coach Road (off Edgewood Road), Redwood City, CA 94062
Starting Point: We started our hike from the Old Stage Coach Road main parking area.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve information link (County of San Mateo):
https://www.smcgov.org/parks/edgewood-park-natural-preserve
Edgewood Park Trails map link (County of San Mateo):
https://www.smcgov.org/parks/edgewood-park-trails
Visit Edgewood Park information link (Friends of Edgewood):
https://friendsofedgewood.org/visit-edgewood-park
Distance:
There are many options for trails and varied distance hikes at Edgewood Park. The hike featured in the photo gallery here covered a loop of a little over two miles ascending Old Stage Road, then taking the Serpentine Trail to the Sylvan Trail which took us back to the park entrance.
Considerations:
• The parking lot can fill up on weekends, and roadside parking is limited.
• Pick up a brochure/trail map at the parking area if you’re not familiar with the trails.
• There are toilet facilities near the picnic area by the park entrance, and also in the visitor center when it’s open.
• Dressing in layers, using sun protection, and having water are advised for any hike.
• Pay attention to health, safety and wildlife notices.
• Hikers, runners, and horses are allowed on certain trails. Follow notices.
• No dogs/pets allowed.
• There is poison oak in this area. A scrub like Tecnu is helpful if there is contact with skin.
The trail:
We started out with a visit to the education center/visitor center, which has limited hours but is usually open on weekends. The staff person was very informative about the rare Bay Checkerspot butterfly, whose habitat is being restored here.
We chose to start our hike with the steep part, which meant chugging up Old Stage Road. It’s enough of an incline over enough distance to be somewhat challenging for some walkers. It’s a lovely walk rising up through tree coverage toward open space, where the forest feeling switches to a grassy prairie feel.
There are some lovely oak trees that stand iconically at a distance, as well as those in closer quarters while hiking through the tree cover. The open areas feature distant views of the bay.
Patches of serpentine rock stand out in the flat stretches. The grass was still green on our late spring visit, but some was turning to an orange red, making for a painterly look to the landscape. Our summer hikes at Edgewood Park have been highlighted by the pale blonde grass coloring that comes during dry season, but we came in May this time to enjoy seeing wildflowers.
We saw several varieties of wildflower, none of which I could easily identify other than California poppies. We saw many lizards skittering along the trail, and stopped to watch birds perched on rocks as we went through the serpentine rock areas.
I love a scenic wooden fence on a trail, and Edgewood Park has many of these on offer. They invite the eye to follow them, pulling hikers along their visual lines. Fences standing starkly in open places have their own special ambience, but as we hiked down into the Sylvan Trail, we also found aesthetically pleasing fence lines under tree cover.
There was a short stretch of trail featuring manzanita, or maybe it was madrone trees. I have a difficult time distinguishing between these two trees with their fascinating reddish smooth bark.
We have visited Edgewood Park several times in different seasons, and usually find ourselves on the same trail loop. Next time we’ll try a different trail with a higher ridge view. Happy hiking!
(Edgewood Park Old Stage Road-Sylvan Trail Hike Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Fences” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
