Foothills Park: A How To Guide

Published in

PaloAltoConnect

8 min readJan 14, 2021

Tips and guidelines to work together to enjoy nature while protecting the habitat and wildlife!

As of December 17, 2020, Foothills Park is open to the general public. This open space preserve is a special place. In welcoming newcomers to the park, we want to make sure that this serene environment is protected for generations to come. Palo Alto is happy to welcome new visitors from across the Bay Area to enjoy the space. Please help us protect the integrity of the preserve and the safety of wildlife by following park rules and other guidelines. This blog, offering a Foothills Park how to guide, seeks to make sure everyone has a safe, fun, and productive visit!

New Temporary Foothills Park Visitor Capacity Changes

A maximum level of users at one time is set to protect Foothills Park’s natural environment. The visitor cap is based on the amount of available parking spaces in the park and is normally set at 1,000 visitors at one time (approximately 370 vehicles at one time). The Council voted to temporarily reduce the visitor cap to 750 visitors at one time (approximately 277 vehicles at one time) for the first 90 days of opening to the general public.

Since opening the park to the general public on December 17, Foothills Park has reached max capacity numerous times, most frequently between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends, which creates safety and traffic issues and other concerns. Starting Saturday, January 9, Foothills Park will be closed when it first reaches capacity and will reopen at 3 p.m.. Pedestrians and bikers may enter the park as long as they are not parked illegally.

This temporary step is to help manage the number of visitors in the park and provide a safe, enjoyable, and consistent experience to parkgoers. Signs are posted at Page Mill and Arastradero Road. An automated vehicle counting technology with a website for the public to check if the visitor cap and entrance closure is in effect, is coming soon. This will provide an improved visitor experience, and increase access as visitation ebbs and flows.

If Foothills Park is at capacity, we encourage you to visit one of Palo Alto’s other open spaces or parks. Learn more about the City’s open spaces and what to know before you go at cityofpaloalto.org/visit safely.

Currently access to the park is free, but entry fees may be implemented in the months to come. Stay tuned for changes to be informed before you visit.

Check out the downloadable online map for trail information!

Foothills Park Safety Guidelines

For the protection of nature and you, there are some guidelines that we ask visitors to abide by when enjoying the park. Rules and regulations are listed on the City’s website, but here are some additional safety recommendations to make your experience as safe and issue-free as possible.

While you are at the nature preserve, be sure to:

Only park in designated parking areas. Visitors parking illegally will be ticketed. Look out for ‘no parking’ and ‘no stopping’ signage. Do not block gates. All of your tires should be off the roadway so there is enough space on the roadway for two lane traffic and for cars and walkers to pass. Never park or drive on vegetation or unimpacted areas that don’t have gravel or base rock.
Trails or areas blocked off are for your safety and the safety of the environment. Please stay on designated trails only. You should never walk on native vegetation. ‘Don’t crush the brush.’ The only places you should walk on are trails, roads and the bright green, irrigated turf grass. Walking off trails causes vegetation loss and soil compaction which lead to erosion, which creates water quality issues and harms wildlife such as endangered fish. We are all visitors at Foothills Park, the wildlife live here full time so please, respect their space!

“Leave No Trace’: Please take out what you bring in. Leave no garbage behind.
Consider leaving the kid’s bikes at home. In Foothills Park, bikes are only allowed on paved roads, and the park roads are narrow, which make it challenging for young children to bike safely. Scooters are not allowed.
Leave wildlife alone. Give wildlife their space and ‘keep it wild.’ If you are changing the behavior of wildlife, that means you are already too close. Feeding wildlife is prohibited at all Palo Alto Open Spaces, it disrupts their behavior and can make them aggressive towards humans. Do not touch or interact with wildlife, their and your safety depend on staying a safe distance from all animals you encounter in the park. When letting others pass on trails, be aware of snakes, ticks, poison oak and your footing when making room off the trail. Watch for signs.
Poison oak is hard to identify if you’re not familiar! It can be a vine, ground cover or a bush. During the summer it has bright green oily leaves, during the fall red leaves, and right now it doesn’t have any leaves (but will still give you a rash!). One way to remember: ‘leaves of three let it be, ! The safest way to protect yourself from a rash is to stay on trails and out of vegetated areas of the preserve.

Ticks are in all meadows and forested land in the preserve. Stay on trails, roads and turf areas to avoid exposure. Ticks carry many diseases, including Lyme Disease.
If you have questions, find a Park Ranger or a volunteer. They would love to answer your question or provide details about fun facts about Foothills Park.

Official Preserve Rules

Dogs are not permitted anywhere in Foothills Park on weekends or city holidays. Dogs are only permitted on weekdays and must be on a leash under physical control at all times. More information is on our Dogs page.
Bicycles are allowed on paved roads only, and not on trails. All bicyclists must wear helmets.
Coasting devices (i.e., skates, roller blades, scooters, and skateboards) are not allowed in Open Space.
Fires and barbecues are restricted to designated areas. Staff may restrict usage depending on fire danger.
Use park barbecues for charcoal fires only; no wood fires.
No collecting of plants or animals.
No smoking anywhere within Open Space nature preserves.
No remote-control devices, for articles such as boats, planes, quadcopters or drones.

New to Nature?

Foothills Park is a great first trip for new nature lovers! Be sure to abide by all the above protocols to have a safe and healthy adventure into nature.

Here are some additional tips for those new to nature:

Ticks: Ticks are common in vegetation in parks in California. These creatures bite and burrow into your skin. They carry many diseases, most notoriously Lyme Disease. For more about ticks and what they look like, find resources online at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, here: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html

Deer: Deer are common wildlife in California parks and wooded areas. While adorable, these creatures can be territorial, especially when their offspring are around. You should never approach deer, especially not to pet or feed them. They can become violent, if approached.

Wildlife and Local Plants: Vegetation and wildlife preservation is an important part of Foothill Park’s mission. It is important to stay on marked trails and not walk into areas where wildlife and vegetation are actively being protected.

Recreate Responsibly: protect yourself, the outdoors and others by following these safety tips.

New to hiking? Watch a video: Our partners at Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District offers tips for new visitors and those new to hiking that are applicable at any open space preserve.

COVID-19 Park Safety Protocols

In this unprecedented time, opportunities for all of us to enjoy the outdoors are more vital than ever. As one of the safest recreational activities that the CDC recommends right now, it is easy to get lax about safety when outdoors. While being outdoors is safer than indoor recreation, adhering to pandemic protocols in place is crucial to keeping the community safe and curbing of the spread of the coronavirus.

When visiting Foothills Park or any of the City’s other open spaces, be sure that you still:

Wear your mask. As is required by State and local law, wear a mask when you are unable to maintain a 6 foot social distance. If hiking, you will need to wear your mask when passing fellow hikers within 6 feet, so keep your mask easily accessible if you do choose to take it off in remote areas of the park. It is safest to leave your mask on at all times.
Maintain a social distance of 6 feet at all times from those outside your household.
Do not gather. All gatherings with households other than your own are prohibited according to County directive. See more information here.
Stay home if you’re sick. If you have symptoms, stay home for the safety of your loved ones and others.
Wash your hands frequently. If you do not have access to a water and soap, use hand sanitizer.