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Edgewood County Park (2012)

Edgewood County Park

January 1st, 2012

4.3 miles
800 vertical feet
Total Time: 2:41

Starting elevation
223 feet
Max elevation
738 feet

Rating: 5/10

Directions: Take Highway 280 to Edgewood Road. Go east (toward the bay) on Edgewood. Just past Crestview Road on your left, turn right into the park. If the inner parking lot is full, you can park in the dirt lot right next to Edgewood Road.   View Driving Map



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GPX File

The inner parking lot was full when we arrived on this bright sunny winter's morning, but there was plenty of space in the outer dirt lot. We walked past the visitor's center and through the inner parking lot and started up the Sylvan Trail. It starts out as a wide dirt road, climbing as it curves by some picnic areas.

It then turns to singletrack as it continues through the forest. After climbing on the trail for about a mile, we emerged to view a mostly treeless section of hill in front of us, with raptors soaring overhead. Shortly, at the trail intersection, we turned left onto the Serpentine Loop trail. There are lots of trails that criss-cross the park, so you can easily make up a trip that goes from about 0 to 5 miles. We were planning to do a 4 mile hike today, which would basically circle the park.

The Sylvan Trail

First views of the bay from the Sylvan Trail

Approaching the Serpentine Loop Trail

We now had some of the best views in the park, looking out across San Carlos, Redwood Shores, and San Francisco Bay. At the next intersection, we turned left to stay on the Serpentine Loop. We now approached the Sunset Trailhead (near the intersection of Sunset Way and Hillcrest). There are 4 entrances to the park -- the main entrance, the Sunset Trailhead, the Clarkia Trailhead off Canada Road close to where it crosses under 280, and the Edgewood Trailhead, which is actually outside of the park near Edgewood and Canada Road (the trail enters the park after a half mile).

View of the bay from the Serpentine Loop Trail

We next turned right to stay on the Serpentine Loop, which was now a wide dirt road next to a wooden fence. Signs in the area warn visitors to stay on the trail to prevent damage to the surrounding habitat. There are also some interpretive signs scattered here and there throughout the park.

This part of the trail is out in the open, with views of the main park hill to the right and Interstate 280 to the northwest. When we reached the intersection with the Edgewood Trail, we were very close to 280. We passed the intersection and then shortly turned right onto the Franciscan Trail, another singletrack trail. Lots of trail runners passed us as we settled down for lunch here. There aren't a lot of great places to stop for lunch on this hike -- there is a bench we'd see later on the Franciscan Trail near the Serpentine and Sylvan Loop trail, but that's about it. Other than the picnic areas close to the park entrance.

After lunch, we continued up the Franciscan Trail, past two intersections with the Ridgeview Loop, then started our descent. We took the Franciscan Trail all the way to the Edgewood Trail and then turned right, following the Edgewood Trail another half mile back to the parking lot. By this time (around 1:30pm), both the inner and outer lots were full, and there were cars parked along the side of Edgewood Road.


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