Skip to content
El Sereno Open Space Preserve, Los Gatos, CA

Photo: Brholden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

El Sereno Open Space Preserve

A 1,614-acre Midpen preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains with ridge trails, chaparral scenery, and views over Silicon Valley and Lexington Reservoir.

Los Gatos, CA

About El Sereno Open Space Preserve

El Sereno Open Space Preserve is managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and sits on a ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of Saratoga and west of Los Gatos. Its terrain is mostly chaparral, with meadows higher up and some shaded spots near creeks. Visitors can hike, bike, walk dogs, and ride horses on designated routes. A ridge route combining the Montevina Ridge and Aquinas trails gives wide views toward neighboring preserves, Lexington Reservoir, and the South Bay. Dogs may go only on designated trails and must stay leashed, and the preserve has no camping, no restrooms, and no fires. Wildlife such as mule deer and coyotes live in the area, and visitors are asked to leave plants and animals undisturbed.

  • #hiking
  • #biking
  • #dog-friendly
  • #horseback-riding
  • #ridge-views

What's around here?

The closest stops to El Sereno Open Space Preserve, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums

    Montalvo Arts Center

    Check prices

    A nonprofit arts center in Saratoga, California, with concerts, residencies, grounds to explore, and a historic villa.

    1.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Hakone Gardens

    Under $25

    Historic Japanese garden in Saratoga with a koi pond, hillside paths, traditional buildings, and rotating art exhibits.

    2.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    New Museum Los Gatos

    Under $25

    A nonprofit art and history museum in downtown Los Gatos, California.

    2.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Garrod Farms

    $50+

    A family-run stable and estate winery in the Saratoga foothills offering trail rides and wine tasting.

    4.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Los Gatos

    No admission fee

    A walkable South Bay town at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains with a historic creek trail.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    4.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

    Check prices

    A 739-acre Midpen preserve in Santa Clara County with hiking, biking, and horse trails, plus local history tied to a newspaper editor.

    5.8 mi awayMore like this