On my last hike a fellow hiker I encountered on the trail recommended following the Ridge Trail to it's end point as there were some good spots of California Poppies. I'm guessing she had not actually been there this season because, while there were quite a few of them in spots I didn't find any at what I think was the rocky look out point she mentioned. This last 1.4 miles of the Ridge trail is still well worth hiking though.
This section is a single track trail and after a brief section in open grasslands, skirting the hillside, the trail descends into a beautiful Redwood and Oak filled interior valley. The trail weaves in and out of sunny open grasslands and shaded dense Oaks. Interestingly, one section of open grassland sees the grasses overgrown by ferns. Kind of strange in open full sun but, there none-the-less. This end of the Preserve is more rocky and at times the trail is a bit rocky but not terribly so. It makes for some nice views. The only downside in the view is the power lines and towers that run through the area. The trail dead ends at Rapley Ranch Road though I can honestly say the you can skip the last .2 miles (where the trail turns left onto a service road),
There were two highlights of my hike the first being spotting a Hawk. It was perched in a tree and then took off and circled overhead for a few minutes before flying away. Unfortunately my camera battery had died by this point so no photos! The second highlight as I had started my hike around 9AM both the Valley and the Coast were still fogged in however it was crystal clear in the mountains so there were some great views of creeping fog as it slowly receded (I did get some shots of this before my battery died).
bc