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Photo: David Baron, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Features open rolling grasslands and deep, cool river valleys. The views from atop Black Mountain can be excellent.
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve is a 3,133-acre (12.68 km2) open space preserve, located near Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, California, United States. The preserve encompasses the upper Stevens Creek watershed in the valley between Monte Bello Ridge and Skyline Ridge. "Monte Bello" means "beautiful mountain" in Italian, and refers to Black Mountain which is the highest part of Montebello Ridge. The straight valley of upper Stevens Creek is also the rift valley of the San Andreas Fault.
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Sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and Silicon Valley. Excellent in late winter and early spring when the wildflowers are in full bloom. Great place to watch the sunset.
This park combines dense redwood groves adjacent to wide-open grasslands. A good choice if you can't make it to Muir Woods.