Monte Bello means "beautiful mountain" in Italian, and the preserve lives up to the name. It covers the upper Stevens Creek watershed between Monte Bello Ridge and Skyline Ridge, and Midpen calls it one of its richest preserves for wildlife and ecosystem diversity.
How big is it? Midpen lists 3,436 acres. Wikipedia gives 3,133 acres, which may reflect an older figure.
Best easy hike
The self-guided Stevens Creek Nature Trail is a 3-mile loop that Midpen says takes about three hours at a leisurely pace. The first stretch, from the Monte Bello parking area to a vista point, averages a gentle 5% grade. From the bench there, you can look down Stevens Creek Canyon to Mount Umunhum and Loma Prieta, the epicenter of the 1989 earthquake. The trail then drops 450 feet into the headwaters of Stevens Creek and returns along the San Andreas Fault. Wikipedia notes that the straight valley of upper Stevens Creek is the fault's rift valley.
The Canyon Trail, an old road that descends 400 feet from Page Mill Road into Stevens Creek Canyon, is the backbone of the trail system and is popular with cyclists.
Camping
Black Mountain Backpack Camp is Midpen's only campsite. It's a 1.5-mile hike from Page Mill Road with a 500-foot climb. A permit and reservation are required, and the fee is $2 per night per camper.
History
After 19th-century logging, Italian farmers and winemakers settled the slopes, and dairies there supplied milk to San Francisco and the Peninsula, according to Wikipedia. Palo Alto Times founder George Morell bought Black Mountain Ranch in 1940 and later gave land to Stanford. When Midpen acquired the land from Stanford in 1975, a commune of about 100 people called "The Land," living along the Canyon Trail, was evicted.