PARK TOURS

Explore Santa Clara County's open spaces and enjoy lakes, mineral springs, migrating birds, wildflowers and more while learning about Silicon Valley's rich culture, history and wildlife.

If you missed any of BAO's virtual park tours, you can watch them by clicking this link BAO Videos

BAO members receive a discount on the events. BAO Premium Members receive up to 50% discount and Basic Members (free) receive up to a 25% discount on BAO events. If you are not already a BAO member, and want to join to receive discounts, please Click Here before registering for the events.

**REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED** and space is limited, so please sign up as soon as possible using the registration button below. Detailed information, such as directions, will be sent one week and one day before the event date.

CLOSED: Hike 4 Spring Wildflower Walk

Wednesday March 26, 2025 from 09:00 AM to 02:00 PM

Sierra Azul Preserve protects more than 19,000 acres of the Santa Cruz mountains. We will begin our hike at 1400 feet and hike out on rolling up and down small hills (shorter two-mile walk option) and a gradual short uphill (longer four-mile walk option) enabling us to see views of Mt Umunhum, Guadalupe Reservoir, Mission Peak and downtown San Jose. Everyone will receive their own wildflower guide and learn helpful flower identification tips. As we travel, we will search for and identify Spring serpentine wildflowers and add them to our checklist. We end the afternoon with a picnic lunch. This special program is hosted in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Images by Anne Ferguson.

Level of Difficulty: : Easy-to-moderate
Number of Miles: : 2.0
Location: Meeting location is Saratoga CA 95070
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

CLOSED: Hike 5 Windy Hill Wildflower Walk

Wednesday April 9, 2025 from 08:00 AM to 02:30 PM

Windy Hill Preserve is named for its breezy grass-covered hilltop and protects more than 1400 acres of grassland ridges and forests of redwood, fir and oak. In the Spring months, this preserve has a variety of wildflowers. We will begin our hike at the top of Skyline Ridge and descend into shady woodlands where we will see views of the bay as we descend. Everyone will receive their own wildflower guide and learn helpful flower identification tips. As we travel, we will search for and identify Spring serpentine wildflowers and add them to our checklist. After the walk, we stop for a picnic lunch. This special program is hosted in partnership with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Images by Stan Shebs and Calibas, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Level of Difficulty: : Moderate
Number of Miles: : 4.0
Location: Meeting location is Cupertino CA 95014
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

Waitlist only: Hike 6 Threatened Species of Coyote Ridge

Wednesday April 16, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Today, we are fortunate to have an expert-led tour of Coyote Ridge Preserve’s Habitat Protection Area that features serpentine grasslands vital for the growth of rare plants and other wildlife. Along our walk, we will look for and learn about the threatened Bay checkerspot butterfly, the Metcalf Canyon jewelflower, California red-legged frogs, tiger salamanders, tule elk, Western burrowing owls and more. This special walk is made possible by Open Space Authority. Bay checkerspot and wildflower images by Cait Hutnik and Tule Elk image by David Mauk.

Level of Difficulty: : Moderate
Number of Miles: : 3.0
Location: Meeting location is Saratoga CA 95070
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

CLOSED: Hike 7 Exclusive Private Preserve Wildflower Extravaganza

Wednesday April 23, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Join us for an exclusive tour of a private preserve that is home to protected and endangered wildlife. On our journey, we pass through serpentine grassland dancing with wildflower colors and the threatened dudleya. We explore three spring-fed ponds that provide water for wildlife such as birds, damselflies, dragonflies and the threatened western pond turtle. Our expert guide will teach us about the variety of wildflowers, birds, the threatened species and more! This special walk is made possible by Open Space Authority. Dudleya image by Cait Hutnik and damselfly image by Gregor Ritter from Pixabay.

Level of Difficulty: : Easy-to-moderate
Number of Miles: : 2.0
Location: Meeting location is Saratoga CA 95070
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

CLOSED Hike 8 Urban Agriculture

Thursday May 1, 2025 from 09:20 AM to 01:30 PM

We start the day with a visit to the Martial Cottle visitor center, then take a leisurely, flat walk around this agriculture park and learn about its place in history. Next, we visit Our City Forest to learn about their latest urban forestry projects. We end the afternoon with a social picnic lunch. This special program is hosted in partnership with Valley Water. Image by Anne Ferguson.

Level of Difficulty: : Easy
Number of Miles: : 1.5
Location: Meeting location is Saratoga CA 95070 or San Jose CA 95136
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

Hike 9 Smell the Roses

Saturday May 10, 2025 from 09:45 AM to 01:30 PM

This year is the Heritage Rose Garden’s 30-year anniversary. The garden is the largest public collection of roses in the Western hemisphere with over 3,000 varieties. Today, we have a special tour by a rose garden expert. We take a leisurely walk to the rose garden and learn about the history of the garden, and learn about the diversity of roses while admiring and smelling the roses at their peak bloom. After our visit to the garden, we enjoy a social picnic lunch.This special program is hosted in partnership with Valley Water. Images by Anne Ferguson.

Level of Difficulty: : Easy
Number of Miles: : 1.5
Location: Meeting location is Cupertino CA 95014
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

Hike 10 San Jose's Vistas

Wednesday May 14, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is 1600 acres of grassland, oak woodlands and oak savannas. The area protects watersheds by absorbing water so it can flow into Penitencia Creek that is in the valley. We are visiting at a time when there will be wildflowers, expansive views of the valley and Santa Cruz Mountain range. Our expert guide will teach us about the diverse landscape and protected wildlife species that make this preserve their home. This is a 3.5-mile, one-way, 1700-foot down-hill walk (9% grade) from the highest point of the preserve down to Alum Rock Park where we will have our picnic lunch. This special walk is made possible by Open Space Authority. Photos by Anne Ferguson.

Number of Miles: : 3.5
Location: Meeting location is Cupertino CA 95014
Additional Benefits: Transportation and picnic lunch are included

Hike 11 Wings & Bling

Wednesday May 21, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Today we have multiple experts guide us on a leisurely walk to find and learn about Spring birds and flowers at Ulistac Nature Area. As we walk through the native plant habitats, we will see blue, red, purple, yellow and flowers such as blue-eyed grass, ceanothus, California fuchsia, California wild rose, island marrow, Catalina cherry, flannel bush and more! We will sample the different flower aromas as well. As we walk along the Guadalupe River that attracts a variety of migratory and native birds, we may see a green heron, warbling vireo, Swainson’s thrush, Great-tailed grackle, cliff swallow, yellow-breasted chat and ash-throated flycatchers with our borrowed or own binoculars. This special walk is made possible by Open Space Authority. Images by Basar CC BY 3.0 (green heron), Diego Delso CC BY-SA 3.0 (flannel bush) and Curtis Clark CC BY-SA 2.5 (island marrow).

Level of Difficulty: : Easy
Number of Miles: : 2.0
Location: Meeting location is Cupertino CA 95014
Additional Benefits: Transportation and lunch are provided. Binoculars can be borrowed.

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