Sanborn County Park

The park is located four miles west of the town of Saratoga and straddles the steep slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains from Sanborn Road all the way up to Skyline Boulevard.

This log-style house was built in 1908 by the Honorable James R. Welch, Superior Court Judge for Santa Clara County as a summer retreat for his family.

Fairly soon thereafter the County Board of Supervisors approved the park plan and began development of necessary road and trail improvements.

The center features live animals found in the Santa Cruz Mountains, earthquake and geology exhibits, an arthropod zoo and a regional plant garden.

Towering redwood forests add to this eastern slope exposure in keeping hiking trails comfortable in the heavy use period, from June to September; moreover, there are abundant mixed forest locales having Coast live oak, Pacific madrone, Big leaf maple and Tanbark oak.

Summit Rock, which is an established rock-climbing venue offers a panoramic outlook over Saratoga and the South Bay, lies at the upper limit of the park, but is readily reached from the Skyline Boulevard side.

At the southeastern corner of Sanborn County Park sits Lake Ranch Reservoir, an attractive tiny mountain lake, accessible via either a steep canyon trail at the terminus of Sanborn Road, or by way of a longer, more level trail originating at Black Road.

Shorter, less strenuous trails extend through the redwood stands and along creeksides within the lower reaches of Sanborn County Park.

Subtle evidence for earthquake activity may be found at numerous locations within the park as described in USGS publication "Where's the San Andreas Fault?

[6] The guide shows where to spot evidence of offset drainages, fault scarps, stream capture, shutter ridges, and sag ponds as you venture through the park.