Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve is a beautiful natural oasis of undeveloped land located in the hills above Redwoood City. It covers 467 acres southeast of the intersection of Interstate 280 and Edgewood Road. It is just east of the Crystal Springs Watershed and the Filoli Mansion and south of Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. It is on hilly land whose elevation ranges from 240 to 873 fet above sea level. It has a wide variety of habitats, including cool, shady forests, steep chaparral-covered hillsides, oak woodlands, and grassy meadows. It has a wide variety of plant and animal species, including 4 protected endangered species. It is a popular place for hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, and nature study year round, but it is most famous for its spectacular display of springtime wildflowers. 

I took the following pictures on 3/31/2001. Starting at the Old Stage Trailhead, I walked up the switchbacks of the Edgewood Trail through shady oak forests and small grassy meadows. I took a left at the Franciscan Trail, then went up the service road through a broad, sunny meadow covered with wildflowers, with views of the surrounding hills. I turned left at the Serpentine Loop Trail, following it along the base of the ridge. At the intersection with the Ridgeview Trail, I took the Ridgeview Loop Trail up to the top of the ridge. From there, peering through the dense chaparral,  I could see the wildflower-covered meadow next to busy I-280 and the Crystal Springs Valley. After dropping down off the ridge and passing the start of the lower half of the Ridgeview Loop Trail, I went up on the short Inspiration Heights Trail, which offered spectacular views of the hills and the Bay. This is a dead end spur, so I backtracked down to the Ridgeview Loop Trail and took the fork down to the right. The goldfields formed an almost solid golden yellow carpet on the lower meadow at the base of the hill. Near the Sunset Trail Head, the Ridgeview, Serpentine, and Clarkia Trail come together. I took the Clarkia Trail, which started out by running down  a hot, narrow chaparral-covered canyon. It then ran by meadows and hillsides alive with butterflies, some of which may have been the endangered checkerspot. The Clarkia Trail ends at a Canada Road. Not wanting to exit there, I backtracked to the Sunset Trail Head and took the southern leg of the Serpentine Loop. This trail ran below the park's ridge, with views of the slopes below the ridge and flower-covered meadows to the west near I-280. I continued on to take the Edgewood Trail along the northwest edge of the park. The trail offered views of canyons and adjacent hills. At the next junction, I took the Franciscan Trail to the northern side of the Sylvan Trail. The Sylvan Trail zigzagged down the hillside through shady forests.  (Note: I'm not a botanist, so I could use help in identifying some of these flowers.)

Lawn and picnic area at the Old Stage Day Camp	The Service Road cutting through the meadow below the ridge	Looking northeast across a goldfield-covered meadow from the Service Road	Goldfields and other flowers in the hills by the Service Road
Goldfields on meadow overlooking the hills of San Carlos	Poppy-covered hill above the Serpentine Loop Trail	Purple flowers (silver-leaf bush lupines) along the hills on the Ridgeview Loop Trail	View down from Ridgeview of meadow between Serpentine Loop Trail and I-280
View down towards I-280 and Canda Road from Ridgeview	View from the south end of the Ridgeview Loop Trail, lower loop runnign along hillside	Junction of Ridgeview, Serpentine Loop, and Clarkia Trail near Sunset Trail Head	View from the Inspiration Heights Trail of the Serpentine Loop Trail, San Carlos, and the Bay
Walkers on the Serpentine Loop Trail approaching the Ridgeview Loop Trail	The Serpentine Loop Trail near the junction with the Ridgeview Trail	Goldfields and poppies on the slopes below Inspiration Heights next to the Ridgeview Trail	Hill next to the Ridgeview Trail heading up towards Inspiration Heights
View across goldfield-covered hill, looking southeast towards Emerald Lake neighborhood	Looking towards the Serpentine Trail  from the Ridgeview- Serpentine Trail junction	Looking up towards Inspiration Heights from the Ridgeview- Serpentine Trail junction	Owl's clover and goldfields below the Serpentine Trail
Hillside covered with tidytips by the Clarkia Trail	Clarkia trail running by hillside	Deer seen in a meadow south of the Clarkia Trail	Looking up towards the ridge from the Serpentine Trail, more bush lupines below
Thick stand of blue-eyed grass along the Serpentine Trail	Hillside by I-280 covered with a wide variety of flowers, from the northwest corner of the Serpentine Trail	Poppies along hills above I-280	Blue-eyed grass along the hills by the Edgewood Trail
Yellow mules ears sunflowers along the Edgewood Trail, looking towards the park's ridge	Mules ears on hill by Edgewood Trail, overlooking Edgewood Road	Ferns along the Sylvan Trail	Thick stand of flowers near the bottom of the Sylvan Trail, probably non-natives