Dean to Crystal Springs trails, Huddart County Park, Woodside (moderate/strenuous) Keep an eye out for black-tailed deer and turkeys amid the fall colors on this 5-mile loop, says Lauren, who’s been a ranger with San Mateo County Parks since 2018. Along the trail, you can spot bursts of bright yellow leaves from California hazelnuts. “They look like they are floating, since the branches are so thin,” she says. TIPS: Start your hike at the Zwierlein Picnic Area. Huddart Park has a $6 vehicle entry fee, but you can borrow a free county park pass from any San Mateo County library. MORE OPTIONS: • Nonette Hanko San Andreas Fault or Franciscan Loop trails, Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, Los Altos. Expect to see excellent fall colors from maples, madrones and bay laurel trees on these short routes that have steep sections (especially Franciscan Loop), says Ranger Marianne. Hike both trails for a challenge or slow down with a self-guided earthquake tour on the San Andreas Trail, where you can shuffle and crunch your way through colorful fallen leaves “like a five-year-old on the East Coast.” • Purisima Creek Trail, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, Half Moon Bay. Choose your own adventure with an 8-mile out-and-back that starts from the Redwood parking lot on Highway 35 or take it easy by starting at the small lot off Purisima Creek Road and turning around at the 2-mile mark for a route that’s mostly flat and bordered by colorful big-leaf maples and redwoods, says Ranger Marianne. Look down to spot banana slugs and roughskinned newts (But don’t touch!) or search high in old-growth trees for marbled murrelets, a black-and-white seabird that comes ashore to nest. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: MIKE JAMES 102 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: SAN MATEO COUNTY PARKS / ALISHA LABORICO - MROSD
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