Completed: July 3, 2023 | Elevation: 2,143′ | Trail: Mindego Hill Trail | Distance: 4.6 miles
Undeterred by the warmer than usual weather, we ventured down the peninsula to tackle two Nifty Ninety peaks in the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve. We decided to hike Mindego Hill first since it was the longer one, and we wanted to take advantage of what little morning sun we had left before it got really hot. We arrived at the Mindego Staging Area via Page Mill Road just before 11:00 A.M. and had the whole parking lot to ourselves. Clearly, we were the only ones crazy enough to be hiking in this weather.
The trail got off to an easy start; it was all downhill for half a mile on a paved road. It was then mostly flat as we walked along a wide open expanse, with Mindego Hill in front of us, before arriving at a gate near the bottom of the hill. The final .7 mile of the trail took us through a few shaded switchbacks before climbing gradually to the summit.
The top of Mindego Hill was marked by a sign. We had nice views of the preserve. Normally, we’d be able to see out to the ocean as well; instead, there was a marine layer covering everything in the distance.
As we headed back, we could see the long, exposed stretch of trail we had hiked. When we neared the ascent to the parking lot, it was after 12:30 P.M. and there was another couple coming down. I guess we weren’t the only crazy ones. Going uphill wasn’t as bad as I had expected and we found ourselves at the top in no time.
It was already really hot, but we still had one more hike to do. After cooling off a bit in the car and having a quick snack, we headed off to a different staging area to make the short walk to Borel Hill.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
With only pockets of shade on this trail, it would have been a really nice hike in cooler weather. It would have also been possible to do Mindego and Borel Hill as one big loop by connecting various trails together, but not wanting to be out in the heat any more than necessary, we drove to a staging area that was closer to Borel Hill.
The trail is well signed and easy to follow.