Today I ran the Los Trancos Trail in Foothills Park. The trail is a hilly 7.5 miles that is nearly a loop (the start and finish are about .4 miles apart). I haven’t run here in over a year so I forgot how beautiful the scenery is on this trail. One of the best sections is up the narrow canyon in which cascading Los Trancos Creek runs. Another highlight is the amazing views of Portola Valley, Stanford, and the rest of the bay area that open once you reach the upper meadows. Last time I descended via the firetrail and this time I continued the Los Trancos Loop which provided some awesome sections of single track where I could open it up. I also forgot about how steep the Los Trancos Trail is. Right from the get-go, the trail climbs steeply and then the section along Los Trancos Creek really got “the pump” going in my quads! I added a loop of the fern trail to bring the mileage total up to 9 miles over 62 minutes. There is definitely possibilities for extending the running distance by taking the Page Mill Trail from the top part of the Los Trancos Trail and into the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve where it looks like there are many variations to make a 3-5 mile additional loop (11-15 mile run).
This was a highly enjoyable loop that provides some challenging (steep) ascents, but a great setting. I’ll definitely be back here soon to try the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve extension.
Image Courtesy of The Friends of Foothills Park
Leor Pantilat's Adventures