El Sereno Open Space Preserve is a park unit of the
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Formed in 1972 by voter initiative, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) is a non-enterprise special district in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has acquired and preserved a regional green belt of open space land and provides o ...
located on the peak and slopes of 2580 ft. El Sereno mountain, a peak in the
Santa Cruz Mountains. The preserve is located in
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together ...
.
Location
The city of
Monte Sereno, California is named after El Sereno mountain.
A portion of the city is built on the foothills of the mountain. El Sereno mountain is paired with
El Sombroso mountain
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from t ...
on each side of
Los Gatos, California.
Geology
The
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizonta ...
runs in the valley immediately to the south of the mountain. The Berrocal fault zone runs under the mountain's northern slope. A small, unnamed fault runs in the small valley that leads down to Canon Dr.
Views
The preserve offers visitors views of
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
,
Los Gatos, California and
Lexington Reservoir
Lexington Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Los Gatos Creek near Los Gatos, California. The James J. Lenihan Dam, a high, thick earthen dam, forms the third-largest reservoir in Santa Clara County.
Background
The reservoir i ...
. The
Monterey peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and the resort and community of Pebble Beach.
History Monterey
Monterey was founded i ...
can be seen in the distance.
Trails
Limited parking is available at the end of Montevina Rd. The Montevina Ridge Trail from there connects to the Aquinas Trail. The Serenity Trail goes to the base of a power pole overlooking Lexington Reservoir. The Overlook Trail is accessed at the end of Overlook Drive.
Cougar habitat
El Sereno mountain is a habitat for the
Cougar. Signs at the entrance to the preserve warn visitors.
References
External links
Map of El Sereno Open Space PreserveMountain biking page about the preserveUSGS Map of the Sargent-Berrocal fault zone
Parks in Santa Clara County, California
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Nature reserves in California
Santa Cruz Mountains
Parks in the San Francisco Bay Area
Bay Area Ridge Trail
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