Skyline Ridge - Palo Alto Vista Trail Run

Palo Alto Vista Trail Run
1/2 Marathon, 10K & 5K


		Run high above the valley along the Skyline Ridge Trail.

Early registration is highly recommended for this run, since it’s popular, and entries are limited to 200.

The Skyline Open Space Preserve is considered one of the Bay Area’s five best locations for viewing wildflowers. On race day, the hills will explode with color, as bright-orange poppies and purple lupine put on their best display.

The course features two out-and-back sections, with 10k runners completing the north portion only, and half-marathoners proceeding south past the 10k finish line for another 6.9-mile out-and-back.

	Location: Palo Alto, CA Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

	Date: Saturday March. 04, 06 Start 9:00 AM

	Entry Fees: $29.95 $55.00 Marathon (Includes finisher t-shirts and awards to first three in 5-year age groups for each distance.)

	Note: Register online via Active.com. Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Sorry no dogs allowed. Course map Profile

Driving south on Skyline Boulevard toward the start of the Palo Alto Vista Trail Run, you’ll pass a vista point that several guidebooks have described as having the best panoramic views of the Bay.

From this point just south of Clouds Rest Road, the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco are clearly visible to the north, the Alviso marshes nestle at the south tip of the Bay, and Mt. Diablo looms above the mist of the East Bay Hills. Hoover Tower and Stanford huddle directly below, and in the middle distance the eye is drawn to two enormous aircraft hangers at Moffett Field, relics of WWII, and the largest wood-framed structures in the world.

Just 220 feet west of the vista point, the Bay Area Ridge Trail meanders through grassy meadows. Loping down the trail, your eyes will be treated to embrace the same views of the Bay offered by the vista point, and even more exciting views 15 miles westward, over forest and farmland and the blue Pacific kissing the horizon.


		A few of the sights along the Palo Alto Vista Trail Run.

The course is best described as rolling hills, with ascents and descents that average about a half-mile in length. The race begins at 2076 feet, and the highest point, Borel Hill on the north out-and-back (2574 feet), offers the day’s best views. The hills on the south out-and-back are somewhat easier, making the final 7 miles of the half-marathon less taxing.

The north out-and-back passes Alpine Pond, while the half marathon skirts the shores of Horse Shoe Lake and bisects the Skyline Ridge Christmas tree farm. The course passes mainly through open meadows, but dips briefly into the oak and bay forests that are typical of sheltered areas on the ridge.

Marathon is two loops of the half marathon course. Starting time for the marathon is 7:30 AM, all other events at 9:00AM

Directions: From 280 exit Page Mill Road and proceed west. You will travel on Page Mill Road for 8.5 miles until you hit Highway 35. At the intersection turn left (south) onto Skyline for 0.8 miles - the park is on the right. Page Mill Road is a slow winding climb - so plan accordingly.