This independent guide to Palo Alto’s nature and open spaces is part of the Palo Alto Tourism guide. It contains no affiliate links, sponsored placements, or paid recommendations. Updated on October 27, 2026, by Ardan Michael Blum, who has lived in downtown Palo Alto since 2015.
Related: Neighborhoods and Local Places.
Palo Alto’s principal open spaces offer four very different outings. The Baylands is a low, exposed wetland landscape; the Dish is a steep paved exercise route through a working Stanford research and conservation area; Pearson-Arastradero is a natural-surface trail network shared by hikers, cyclists, and equestrians; and Foothills Nature Preserve is a much larger foothill destination with internal roads, picnic areas, a lake, and substantial hikes. They are separate destinations rather than one continuous walking route.
The most common practical risks are sun, heat, dehydration, wind, steep or uneven surfaces, and conflicts on shared routes—not dramatic wildlife encounters. Bring water, choose a route suited to the least-mobile member of the group, and check the relevant official status page on the day of the visit. In the foothill preserves, remain on marked trails, avoid poison oak, and follow Santa Clara County’s tick precautions, including checking clothing and skin after the outing. Weather, wildfire conditions, poor air quality, high tides, trail damage, maintenance, or habitat work can change access at short notice.
East of US 101, the Baylands Nature Preserve is Palo Alto’s principal wetland landscape. The City describes a 1,940-acre preserve with approximately 15 miles of multi-use trails through tidal and freshwater habitats. It is an important year-round birding area and a migratory stopover on the Pacific Flyway.
The landscape is low, open, and exposed, with broad views across salt marsh, mudflat, ponds, levees, and sky. It suits walking, bicycling, birdwatching, and quiet observation, but it is not a landscaped park or swimming beach. Shade is scarce, and wind, sun, heat, and changing shoreline weather can strongly affect a visit.
This is protected habitat, but it is not untouched wilderness. Levees, flood-control works, Palo Alto Airport, Baylands Golf Links, the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, habitat-restoration projects, and a capped former landfill all form part of the surrounding urban shoreline. Aircraft and maintenance noise may therefore be noticeable.
Where to Begin
Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and boardwalk: 2775 Embarcadero Road. This is the clearest starting point for a short first visit and provides direct access to the salt-marsh boardwalk. The building currently lists public hours of noon–3:00 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. on Sunday; it is closed Monday through Friday. Verify those limited hours before traveling. A building closure does not necessarily close every outdoor route, and an outdoor closure does not necessarily follow the building schedule.
Byxbee Park: 2375 Embarcadero Road. Its trails climb over a capped former municipal landfill. The hills provide wider views and contain site-integrated environmental art. The City lists restrooms and drinking fountains here.
Trails, Tides, Rules, and Access
Many marsh-edge routes are comparatively level, although surfaces and conditions vary; Byxbee Park includes noticeable climbs. Pedestrians and bicyclists share many trails. Consult the City’s Baylands trail map before attempting a longer circuit.
High and king tides can submerge low trails. Never enter a flooded route, pass a barrier, or walk onto exposed mudflats. Check the City’s current preserve alerts, especially after storms, during unusually high tides, or when construction or habitat work is under way.
Birdlife changes with the season, weather, and tide; no water level guarantees a particular sighting. Bring binoculars, remain on marked trails, and do not approach, feed, harass, or deliberately flush wildlife for photographs. Dogs are permitted but must remain leashed and under physical control. Helmets are required for bicyclists, and e-bikes are permitted only on paved trails. Kites are prohibited because of the nearby airport; drones and other remote-controlled devices are also prohibited.
The preserve-wide City rule is daily opening at 8:00 a.m., with a posted closing time based on sunset and last entry 30 minutes before closing. Follow the times at the chosen gate. Parking, restrooms, and water are available at developed locations but not throughout the trail network.
The City lists wheelchair access at the preserve, and the rebuilt boardwalk incorporated accessibility upgrades. That does not establish that every trail, slope, surface, or temporary condition is accessible. For a suitable current route, contact the Baylands Ranger Station at 650-617-3156. Allow about an hour for the boardwalk and a short marsh-edge walk; a longer walk or bicycle ride can take several hours.
Trail closure: A 0.8-mile section of the Adobe Creek Loop Trail is scheduled to remain closed through October 30, 2026, during work on the Palo Alto Flood Basin tide gates. Consult the City’s closure announcement before choosing your walking route.
The Stanford Dish Area takes its name from the large radio antenna above the foothills. Built in 1961 for the United States government, the 150-foot-diameter antenna is federally owned, operated by SRI, and remains in active use. SRI describes its scientific, defense, and space-communications history.
The surrounding land is also used for Stanford teaching and research, habitat conservation, environmental restoration, and university support facilities. Public recreation is one use of a working landscape rather than its sole purpose. Remain on designated public routes, stay outside fenced and operational areas, and yield to service vehicles.
The principal paved recreational route is approximately 3.5 miles, although the total distance depends on the entrance and route used. It contains sustained climbs and descents and should not be treated as a level sightseeing promenade. On a clear day, higher sections provide broad views over the campus, foothills, and Bay; haze, cloud, smoke, and the visitor’s position can limit those views.
Hours, Heat, Rules, and Accessibility
Stanford publishes month-specific public-access hours and permits no visitors to remain after closing. Check the official status page on the day of the visit. Access can be restricted or suspended for maintenance, university operations, wildfire danger, red-flag conditions, excessive heat, or other safety reasons. If the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory or warning for the area, the route may close at noon.
Most of the route is exposed, with little dependable shade and no benches. Wear suitable shoes, carry enough water, use sun protection, and bring a layer for wind or changing weather. Stanford currently provides a pilot emergency-use portable restroom just inside the Stanford Avenue main gate during public-access hours, but advises visitors to plan ahead and not rely on it. There is no permanent public restroom along the route.
Walking, running, and permitted mobility devices are allowed. Bicycles may be used to reach the area but are not permitted inside the Dish route. Pets and other animals are prohibited, except for trained service animals. Observe wildlife from a distance and check the status page for current wildlife notices.
Stanford permits both manual and electric wheelchairs on the Dish trails but warns that some sections are steep. A paved surface does not mean that the complete route is level or suitable for every mobility device. Consult Stanford’s accessibility guidance or email thedishinfo(AT)lists.stanford.edu before visiting if grade, entrance, or parking details are important.
Parking References
Parking is limited and subject to posted roadside and neighborhood restrictions. The following links identify parking approaches; they do not guarantee a legal space and are not a complete list of pedestrian gates:
Stanford Avenue — for the Stanford Gate and main entrance at Junipero Serra Boulevard.
Alpine Road — for the Piers Gate or Alpine entrance.
Coyote Hill Road — listed by Stanford in connection with the Stanford Gate approach. The map identifies the road rather than a particular parking space, and Coyote Hill Road is not itself a Dish entrance.
Use only legal parking, keep driveways clear, and consult the official Dish map before choosing an entrance.
Pearson-Arastradero Preserve covers more than 600 acres of grassland, oak woodland, creek corridor, and evergreen forest in the Palo Alto foothills. The City manages 10.25 miles of interconnected trails for walking, running, conventional bicycling, and horseback riding. Elevation rises from about 275 feet in the northeast to 775 feet in the southwest.
This is a trail network, not a single attraction. A first visit can be as short as the approximately 20-minute walk from the main parking lot to Arastradero Lake. Redtail Loop provides a compact hill walk, while Meadowlark, Woodland Star, Juan Bautista de Anza, and Arastradero Creek trails can be combined into longer routes. The official map records steep grades on some sections, and surfaces include dirt, loose or compacted gravel, roots, rocks, and wooden footbridges. Open-looking terrain should not be mistaken for uniformly easy terrain.
Some trails close after heavy rain to prevent erosion; others remain open year-round. The current alerts page, signs at the trailheads, and ranger instructions supersede older route descriptions. Summer and early-autumn afternoons can be hot, with intermittent rather than continuous shade.
Hikers, runners, conventional bicyclists, and equestrians share much of the network. Everyone yields to horses, and cyclists also yield to pedestrians. Bicycle helmets are required. Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes are permitted only on paved preserve trails, not on the principal dirt and gravel network. Bicycles and horses may not pass through Gate D into Foothills Nature Preserve; that connection is for pedestrians only. Dogs must remain leashed and under physical control.
Fishing is permitted at Arastradero Lake subject to current California rules and licensing requirements. Swimming, wading, boating, and flotation devices are prohibited. Remain on marked trails, do not feed wildlife, and do not collect plants, animals, or natural material.
Address: 1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304. The main lot is small and can fill. Park only in designated spaces; public parking is not permitted along Arastradero Road. If the lot is full, do not create an informal roadside parking or walking route. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are near the entrance, but not at the lake.
The preserve opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at a posted time based on sunset; last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The City does not identify the natural-surface trail system as a wheelchair-accessible route. Visitors who require a particular surface or maximum grade should study the official trail map or call the ranger office at 650-329-2423.
Palo Alto acquired the 533-acre core of the property in the 1970s and dedicated it as parkland in 1981. The preserve was renamed in 2004 for Enid Pearson, a former City Council member associated with the 1965 measure that prevents the City from selling parkland without voter approval.
Foothills Nature Preserve is a 1,400-acre City of Palo Alto preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountain foothills, reached through Los Altos Hills. Its 15 miles of trails cross chaparral, oak woodland, grassland, streams, and the landscape around Boronda Lake. The preserve has been open to the general public without a residency requirement since December 17, 2020; its former name, Foothills Park, was changed in 2021.
This is a separate foothill outing, not a casual extension of downtown or central Stanford. For a shorter visit, choose Vista Hill or Boronda Lake. The Toyon Self-Guided Nature Trail provides an introduction to the landscape, while the approximately 7.5-mile Los Trancos Trail is a substantial hike. Download the official trail map before setting out and carry sufficient water.
Entrance, Fees, and Rules
For driving directions, use the signed park entrance at 11799 Page Mill Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022. The 3300 Page Mill Road address shown in some City material is the mailing or interpretive-center address, not the best navigation point for the entrance.
The preserve opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at a posted time based on sunset; last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The current daily fee is $6 for a vehicle carrying nine or fewer people, with higher fees for larger vehicles. Pedestrians and bicyclists enter without charge, but parking on Page Mill Road and nearby public roads is prohibited. Verify current fees and conditions before traveling.
Bicycles are permitted only on paved roads, not on hiking trails, and helmets are required. Horses are prohibited. Pet dogs are permitted only on non-holiday weekdays and must remain leashed and under physical control; they are prohibited on weekends and City holidays. Restrooms, drinking fountains, and picnic facilities exist at developed locations, not throughout the trail network.
An ordinary day visit does not require a reservation. Groups of 24 or fewer do not need a permit; groups of 25 or more require an advance permit or reservation. The Oak Grove group picnic area and Towle Campground have separate reservation rules. Fires and barbecues are restricted to designated facilities, charcoal only; wood fires and portable grills are prohibited, and the City may suspend barbecue use because of fire danger or poor air quality.
Boronda Lake, Construction, and Accessibility
Fishing and hand-launched nonmotorized boats are permitted on Boronda Lake; anglers age 16 and older need a valid California sport-fishing license. Swimming is prohibited. The City lists first-come canoe rentals on weekends and holidays from May through October when weather and staffing permit, so never assume a canoe will be available.
Check the live alerts and the City’s improvement-project page shortly before visiting.
Accessibility is location-specific and should not be inferred from the presence of an internal paved road. Natural-surface trails can be uneven or steep, and pedestrians currently share some narrow roads with vehicles. The 2026 improvement project includes new pedestrian paths, parking changes, and an accessible parking stall at Boronda Lake; do not assume that planned features are complete until the City confirms them. Call the Foothills ranger station at 650-329-2423 if a particular surface, parking location, or walking distance is essential.
Grassroots Ecology’s current field guidance states that there is no public transportation to the site and warns that cellular coverage on Page Mill Road can be limited. Download the map and driving directions in advance, and do not make a rideshare pickup or an app-unlocked vehicle your only return plan.
Heat, wildfire danger, smoke, storms, and maintenance can change conditions rapidly. Stay on marked trails, observe wildlife from a distance, watch for vehicles on internal roads, and allow enough time to leave before the gate closes.
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