There’s something romantic about dodging cow pies on a hike. At La Honda Creek Preserve in San Mateo County, this precarious endeavor comes with a major payoff: the promise of walking alongside the majestic grazers while gazing at rolling hills, seeing second-growth redwoods and exploring new paths that just opened to the public.
Six miles of fresh trails debuted earlier this month at the vast 6,100-acre preserve west of Portola Valley’s Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, off La Honda Road north of La Honda.
‘A pretty complex process’
Planning, engineering and permitting started as far back as 2022, though actual construction was limited to a short window between May and October in 2024 and 2025 due to “ecological sensitivity,” according to Leigh Ann Gessner, a spokesperson for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, or Midpen.
“It’s a pretty complex process, and it starts way before planning the route,” she said. “You have to make sure you’re not impacting any species or sensitive environments.”
Besides the cows, the wildlife at La Honda Creek includes red-tailed hawks, California red-legged frogs and western pond turtles. Peninsula architecture geeks will also recognize the 125-year-old red barn sitting on the side of La Honda Road on the way in and the historic redwood cabin located near the town of La Honda…