Hale Creek

[3] Hale was an Irish immigrant who became one of the largest land owners in the west, thanks to marrying Catarina Castro, the daughter of a large Spanish grant holder in Mexico in 1859.

[4] He bought 2,000 acres of Juana Briones's original ranch and was one of Los Altos' earliest large land owners.

[8] The Juan Prado Mesa Preserve in Los Altos Hills, along Hale Creek below Neary Quarry, was created in 1970 and named for the original holder of the Rancho San Antonio land grant.

[9] The preserve's Mary Stutz Path that follows the creek can be accessed at the top from Stonebrook Road and at the bottom from Dawson Drive.

[1] Hale Creek is part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District's (SCVWD) Permanente Creek Flood Protection Project which aims to install overflow basins along Hale and Permanente Creeks to catch one hundred year flood waters in order to protect 1,664 parcels (1,378 homes, 160 businesses and 4 schools/institutions) downstream of El Camino Real (saving potential damages in excess of $47.9 million) and prevent flooding of Middlefield Road and Central Expressway, by 12/30/2016 and also to identify opportunities for environmental enhancement such as stream restoration, as well as trails, parks, and open space.

A view of Hale Creek at its outflow from Neary Quarry in Los Altos Hills, California, from the Mary Stutz Path
Hale Creek just above Neary Quarry , where it traverses several luxury home sites in its source canyon
Two branches of Hale Creek merge by a trail crossing; the branch coming from the right runs behind homes on the north side of Kate Drive, along the Mary Stutz Path, while the main branch across this side path flows from the Neary Quarry lake, which is behind the homes on the south side of Kate Drive.
The Mary Stutz path along the creek in the Juan Prado Mesa Preserve in Los Altos Hills
Hale Creek approaching Foothill Expressway, Los Altos
Hale Creek at Marilyn Drive in Mountain View . The creek flows in and out of Mountain View in two short stretches before its confluence with Permanente Creek in Los Altos .
Hale Creek at Covington Road, Los Altos, after a rain in December 2021
Hale Creek and Permanente Creek are dry in August 2019, but when they flow their confluence is here in Los Altos (as viewed from the Mountain View side, off the end of Valencia Avenue). Permanente Creek (left and foreground) transitions here from a more natural channel to the concrete channel; Hale Creek (right) ends here.
A flowering pride of Madeira , by Hale Creek and the Mary Stutz Path