State and local officials celebrated the addition of 14.1 miles to the Bay Area Ridge Trail May 30, marking the largest single-day dedication in decades for the ambitious project to create a continuous 550-mile loop around the San Francisco Bay Area.
The newly dedicated section connects Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve to Calero County Park, bringing the regional trail network to 427 completed miles—about three-quarters of the way toward the ultimate goal.
“Fourteen miles is a really big number for us—it’s more than we’ve ever dedicated on any single day in decades,” said Janet McBride, executive director of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, during Friday’s dedication ceremony at the Morgan Hill preserve.
The Bay Area Ridge Trail, conceived in 1987, envisions a multi-use path for hikers, mountain bicyclists and equestrians that follows ridgelines through all nine Bay Area counties from Calistoga in the north to south of Gilroy.
California State Sen. Dave Cortese, who chairs the legislature’s Outdoor Caucus, said the project has exceeded skeptics’ expectations since he first became involved in the late 1990s.
“A lot of people looked at the Ridge Trail as lines on a map that would perhaps never become a reality,” Cortese said. “It’s not easy, it’s hard work, and Santa Clara County Parks has obviously been a tremendous partner.”
Of all nine Bay Area counties, Santa Clara County is home to the longest portion of the planned route, with 110 dedicated miles of Ridge Trail. The newly opened section represents about 40% of a rerouted segment between Mount Madonna and Almaden Quicksilver County Parks.
The original planned route along Summit Road faced private property challenges, prompting officials to explore alternative alignments.
With support from a WoodNext Foundation grant, six agency partners including Santa Clara County Parks and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, examined about 50 different route options before settling on the current path.
Andrea Mackenzie, general manager of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, said the dedication reflects broader regional collaboration in land conservation and community access to nature.
“Regional trails like the Bay Area Ridge Trail play a crucial role in connecting communities to open space, access to recreation, on-the-ground efforts to care for our lands and the many benefits of spending time in nature,” Mackenzie said. “On these newly dedicated trails, people will be coming here to experience the rolling grasslands, blue oak woodlands and mixed oak savannah that define this preserve’s stunning backcountry.”
Additional trail development is planned for Rancho Cañada del Oro through funding from the Bay Area Ridge Trail and Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The expansion will connect the newly dedicated section with existing trails, and it will open previously inaccessible areas—including land formerly known as the Blair Ranch.
The improvements will more than double public access to the preserve, increasing from about 40% of the total area to about 60%, Mackenzie said.
The Rancho Cañada del Oro connection serves as a critical link in a planned 33-mile trail segment that will eventually connect Almaden Quicksilver County Park in San Jose, to Mount Madonna County Park in Gilroy.
Future extensions will provide connections north to Santa Teresa County Park and ultimately to Máyyan ‘Ooyákma, as well as routes extending south.
Cortese emphasized the importance of making outdoor recreation accessible to young people, particularly those in urban areas who may lack such opportunities. He shared the story of his 12-year-old godson from San Jose, who recently thanked him for outdoor excursions.
“He said, ‘I have to think that I’m one of the very few young people my age who have this kind of an opportunity, to get to do what we did today,’” Cortese recalled. “That shouldn’t be the case.”
Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter.
