In the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains just south of San Jose, Rancho San Vicente is a park with great views and awesome trails, all within easy reach of San Jose. If you’re looking for a laid back hike within easy reach of San Jose, the trail to Lisa’s Lookout might be a good choice for you!
On the final day of February, the Bay was blessed with amazing weather. Sunny skies and high temps near 70 made for perfect hiking weather, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Since I hadn’t hiked for a couple weeks, I was looking for something relatively easy to ease back into things, and this hike seemed like a perfect choice. At nearly 6 miles, the hike to Lisa’s Lookout would get my legs moving for a decent amount of time, but with only 600 feet of elevation gain, it would not be an overly strenuous day.
With great views of some of the highest peaks in the Santa Cruz range, as well as open vistas looking back into San Jose, this is a beautiful hike. This hike has some of the best views for the effort that I have come across in the Bay Area!
Miles/Elevation:
5.9 miles
560 feet
About Rancho San Vicente Open Space Preserve:
Rancho San Vicente Open Space Preserve is an easily accessible outdoor destination just to the south of San Jose. The park butts up against Calero County Park, and many of the trails from Rancho San Vicente connect to trails in Calero County Park.
Rancho San Vicente is a recent addition to the Bay Area, as it just recently opened in 2018. It is adjacent to the larger Calero County Park, which is much larger and has many more trails.
The environment in Rancho San Vicente is primarily rolling hills with mostly open grassy terrain and small areas of tree cover. If you’re going to hike here, be sure you are prepared for the sun! The trail is almost totally exposed, so you are going to be in the sun for almost all of your hike. Because of this, I would recommend coming here on a cool day. Even with the high temperature around 70 degrees I was sweating pretty good.
This is a very popular mountain biking destination in addition to hosting hikers. Be warned that you will likely encounter significantly more mountain bikers than hikers on the trail, and it will be on you to get out of their way most of the time. Trail etiquette is especially important here!
Getting There:
Rancho San Vicente is about a 30 minute drive from Downtown San Jose, though if you are in South San Jose, it will be significantly closer. It is about 40 minutes from San Francisco International Airport.
There is not any public transport to get you to the park, so you will have to either drive yourself or take a Lyft/Uber. Taking a Lyft wouldn’t be the end of the world for this park as it is actually not that far from most of San Jose. Driving yourself is definitely the best way to get here, and there is a large parking lot to accommodate drivers.
Lisa’s Lookout via Lisa Killough Trail:
Starting Off
For this hike, I decided to hike to Lisa’s Lookout via Lisa Killough Trail. From the parking area, the hike begins along gravel roads and gently climbs up a small hill. You will quickly arrive at a gate which you must go through and continue up the hill.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
Soon after going through the first gate, you will encounter the first of the intersections on the trail. If you continue straight, you will hike into Calero County Park. You could hike in this direction and make an 8-9 mile loop, but for this hike you will take a right at the intersection. You can still do the loop, and you will not be hiking into mountain bike traffic the whole day!
At this point, the views will have opened up for you. Looking back over the parking lot you will see rolling hills over the road, and far in the distance Mt Hamilton will be peeking above the tops of the proximate hills. You will also begin to get views looking at the Santa Cruz Mountains. The summit of Mt Umunhum is the most distinct summit here, notable for its large rectangular block on the summit, the site of an old Cold War radar station.
Hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Be sure to check out Castle Rock State Park!
Continuing on, you will have a bit of gentle climbing to do, but it’s really nothing serious. Your whole day will only have 600 feet of climbing, so there really are not big climbs.
After a mile or so, the trail turns from a wide gravel road into single track. On one hand, this is nice because hiking on single track is better than hiking on roads in my opinion. On the other hand, this is bad because now you will have to move to the side much more often to let mountain bikes past.
Reaching the Lookout
The real defining feature of this hike for me can be summed up in two words: mountain bikes. I have nothing against mountain bikers, but I do appreciate when there aren’t a ton when I’m hiking! Again, they have every right to be there, but they can provide frequent interruptions to your hike if it is busy, and I must have been there on national mountain biking day!
Continuing on, the trail winds its way over and around the rolling hills below the Santa Cruz Mountains. You will have views of Mt Umunhum and other high peaks for essentially the rest of your hike, and it provides a nearly permanent dramatic backdrop.
You will hike into and out of small stands of trees, which on a hot day provide a welcome respite from the sun. Have I mentioned this hike is exposed? I know I have, but I want to emphasize it! If you come here on a hot summer afternoon, it would be brutal!
Eventually, you will come to another split in the trail. To the right the main trail continues on to link up with Calero County Park, and if you want to hike the longer loop this is the direction you will continue. To the left, the trail climbs to the top of the nearest hill, and at the top lies the final destination of your hike: Lisa’s Lookout.
After a short hike up the hill of no more than a few hundred feet, you will arrive at Lisa’s Lookout. There are a few picnic tables here, and it would make a great place for a picnic! The views are nice, but nothing too different from what you have seen the whole way up. The hillside that you are on has lots of open grassy areas that would make nice places to lay out a blanket as well.
Views from the lookout:
The Return
From Lisa’s Lookout, you have two options for the return back to the parking lot. You can simply hike back the way you came which is just under 3 miles. The other option is to continue on and make a loop out of the trail and head into Calero. This option requires about 5-6 miles from Lisa’s Lookout, and will bring your total mileage to around 9 miles total.
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 6/10
Overall, it’s a nice easy hike with nice views throughout. Honestly, the biggest problem with this trail is the amount of mountain bikers that you have to move over for. If you could get out on a weekday morning when it’s not busy, it might not be bad, but on a busy weekend afternoon, I would recommend finding a different trail to hike!
Pros:
- Well graded trail
- Good views throughout
- Easily accessible
- Large parking area
- Ability to link up with other trails
Cons:
- Mountain bikes
- Heat and exposure
- Hiking on gravel roads
- Mountain bikes (seriously)
Alternative Hikes:
Cottle Trail to Calero Reservoir and Lisa Killough Trail
Rancho San Vicente North Ridge Trail
Rancho San Vicente Extended Loop
When to Visit:
While you certainly could visit Rancho San Vicente in summer, it’s going to be hot. And not only is it going to be hot, you’re going to be in the sun basically the entire time! For me, I don’t love extreme heat, so I would probably try to avoid this area in the peak of summer, or if I did visit, I would go in the morning or the evening.
Rancho San Vicente is a great place to visit any time from fall through spring. Expect warm, pleasant temperatures in spring and fall and cooler days in winter, but in the sun it’ll probably still feel pleasant!
Rancho San Vicente benefits from the rain shadow created by the Santa Cruz Mountains, so it is quite dry throughout the year. Most rain will fall from December-March, but most days in that time will still likely be sunny. The dry does create fire risk later in the year, especially from August to November.
Links for Further Reading:
Explore POST-protected Rancho San Vicente — Newest Addition to Calero County Park
Rancho San Vicente and Calero Park Mountain Bike Trail, Almaden Valley, California
Best trails in Rancho San Vicente Open Space Preserve, California
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