Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Digest

Every day, scores of residents and visitors in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties take in views of the natural landscape, hike on nearby trails and enjoy the outdoors in spaces protected by Peninsula Open Space Trust.

Residents can now use their library cards to check out day passes for free access to more than 200 state parks. The move is part of a collaboration between California State Parks and the California State Library to provide more equitable outdoor access for all Californians.

The Santa Clara Board of Supervisors has agreed to purchase 47 acres of land between Santa Teresa and Calero county parks for $8.5 million, taking another step to limit development in the Coyote Valley.

Santa Clara County’s potential purchase of the Lehigh cement plant and quarry on the peninsula could mean conversion of the land to open space—but housing might also be in the picture.

Hiking, biking and riding trails run through the foothills, mountains and marshlands of the San Francisco Peninsula. And much of this access to nature is thanks to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

City leaders want to transform one of the region’s largest homeless encampments into a dog park, disc golf course and public garden. The sprawling camp must be cleared by June 30, per an order by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In a surprise move, SeaWorld Entertainment submitted a bid to buy Cedar Fair, the parent company of California’s Great America. According to Bloomberg, SeaWorld offered $3.4 billion in an unsolicited bid. In a news release, Cedar Fair said its board will “carefully review and consider the proposal.”

When the exclusive Foothills Park opened wider to the general public at the end of 2020, it was overrun by visitors and required the implementation of a reservation system. Now things have calmed down and guidelines might change to make it easily accessible again.

Central San Jose residents fought for a park for more than three decades. Then, when they finally got it, it wasn’t maintained. Now they are lobbying for change.

Keith Ngo’s private park was shut down by county officials two years ago for land use and code violations, and now he is struggling to reopen it amid fines and what he says is a stonewall from the county.

San Jose is celebrating the reopening of Lincoln Glen Park, the second all-inclusive park in the city. The park includes play equipment for children on the autism spectrum disorder, along with those with physical disabilities and medical fragility.

Menlo Park residents are banding together to protect their city parks from being sacrificed to further development in the area.

At long last, Los Altos is enjoying a new community center following a dedication ceremony that was widely attended by the community. The state-of-the-art facility replaces the previous site: a 1940s-era converted elementary school.

Viva Calle, an annual San Jose bicycle riding event, lengthened its routes this year to include Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. As cycling enthusiasm continues to grow, the South Bay is ready to welcome riders.

Having seen a resurgence in the early days of the pandemic, roller skating continues to grow in popularity. Some South Bay Area residents are working to preserve its future.

The Los Altos City Council is voting this week to decide whether dogs visiting Hillview Baseball Complex can enjoy longer off-leash hours as part of a new pilot program.

The city plans to transform the dilapidated flatlands at Columbus Park in North San Jose into a public park and plaza complete with playgrounds, sports fields and rest areas. But what will they do with the more than 200 homeless residents?

With fires roaring across California, the USDA Forest Service is closing all 20 million acres of the state’s national forests to public access for two weeks. The Forest Service said the closure will extend through at least Sept. 17.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of agreement between the county and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. One joint goal: thwarting Lehigh Southwest Cement Co.’s efforts to disturb the ridgeline as part of its expansion efforts.

Twelve months after a massive fire burned 97 percent of California’s oldest state park, the work of clearing and rebuilding has just begun at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Ancient redwoods survived, but facilities were a total loss.

Los Altos’ 24,500-square-foot community center opens Oct. 2, a space that includes everything from room for community theater to a bocce court. Mary Jo Price, formerly the program and operations manager at Hayward Rec and Parks, was is announced as coordinator July 13.

The Mountain View Whisman School District is looking to revamp Monta Loma Park following a controversial decision to fence off public access during school hours. Officials say they hope a reconfiguration will meet school security needs as well as local demand for green space.

The Rotary Club of Morgan Hill hosted Rotarians from nearby communities and staff from the El Toro Boys and Girls Club to spruce up Galvan Park, located on Crest Avenue in north Morgan Hill. The club will continue to clean and maintain the park once a month.

Powered model vehicles, including drones and remote-control cars, are not welcome at Byrne Preserve in Los Altos Hills.

Milpitas residents picked up trash, swept pathways, and sanitizied the surfaces of garbage cans. “We’re not sure the frequency yet but we’re looking to make these a regular thing,” said Recreation and Community Services Director Renee Lorentzen.

Barb Granter, Gilroy Gardens’ longtime general manager, is heading to Santa Clara’s Great America theme park. Succeeding her will be Hoa Minh Le, who has been at the Gilroy park since 2003, most recently serving as vice president of marketing and assistant general manager.

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District staff will move forward with investigating strategies to ease parking demand at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve.

With the new center almost finished, councilmembers and staffers are conducting a re-examination of the city’s parks and recreation programs and operations.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is three years into an ambitious 15-year plan to upgrade its 26 preserves in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Delano Manongs Park is named to recognize the Filipino farmworkers who helped labor activist Cesar Chavez orchestrate the Delano grape strike.

“Every bit of California is going to be impacted by climate change. It’s going to affect every person in the state and every acre of land in the state,” said Jay Chamberlin, chief of the state parks’ natural resources division.

Starting with a pilot program in Palo Alto’s Mitchell Park, the Magical Bridge Foundation now has 11 other projects in the works around the South Bay, as well as two in Singapore.