On a weekend morning the lots at Rancho San Antonio fill early with hikers, joggers and families headed for the farm animals. The preserve sits in the foothills where Los Altos meets Cupertino, and it's one of the easiest places in Silicon Valley to get from a parking lot onto a real trail.

What's there

There are more than 25 miles of trail across the 2,180-acre open space preserve and the adjoining 293-acre county park, according to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which manages the county park under an agreement with Santa Clara County Parks.

The star attraction for families is Deer Hollow Farm, a working farm with turn-of-the-century ranch buildings, an organic garden, a cow, pigs, goats, sheep and chickens. Nearby is the restored Grant Cabin, furnished to show how people lived in the late 1800s.

Trails

The Black Mountain route climbs about four miles through chaparral, grassland and oak woodland to the 2,800-foot summit, where you can look into Stevens Creek Canyon and across the Santa Clara Valley. The PG&E Trail is the steeper option, at 3.7 miles and 1,600 feet of gain, following the power-line towers. For something shorter, a three-mile loop follows a creek into a fern-lined canyon and returns to Deer Hollow Farm, and a 2.1-mile trail leads to the High Meadow next to Hidden Villa.

Bikes are restricted to designated trails and are not allowed west of Deer Hollow Farm.

A long history

Juan Bautista de Anza's expedition camped near here on March 25, 1776, and a hill between Permanente and Stevens creeks is known as De Anza's Knoll, Wikipedia notes. Gov. Alvarado granted Rancho San Antonio to Juan Prado Mesa in 1839. In the 20th century the Catholic Church built St. Joseph's College on the land, but it was demolished after heavy damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The county bought park land from the seminary in 1977 and 1981.

Parking

Parking can get congested at busy times, Midpen warns. A sign at the entrance gate shows real-time parking availability, and the district encourages biking, walking, ride apps or transit. Bike racks have been installed at several trailheads away from the main entrance.