2025 Urban Grant Program is now open!

Funded by Measure T, this competitive grant program funds projects that bring nature to urban communities.

Learn More
dirt trail with dry grasses in the foreground and green mountains against a blue sky with few clouds

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve

About this Preserve

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve

Alerts & Closures

  • Visitors must travel counterclockwise around Aquila Trail 

Hours: 

Sunday - Saturday | 7:00 a.m. - 8:15 p.m.

  • The Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve parking lot closes once the parking lot is full, or at 8:15  p.m.
  • Visitors who are already inside the preserve before 8:15 p.m. will be allowed to stay until 30 minutes after sunset (Currently 8:45 p.m.). 
  • If you are coming to watch the sunset, we suggest arriving at least 1 hour early for the best chance of getting a parking spot.

Facilities:

  • No restrooms
  • Picnic tables
  • Trash cans
  • No drinking water

Location:

Sierra Road, San José, CA

Parking & Transportation:

  • Free parking lot (37 spaces)
  • NO PARKING ALONG SIERRA ROAD. 
  • Please note that there is NO access to Sierra Vista from Alum Rock Park through Alum Rock Falls Road. Trespassing is strictly prohibited.
  • Free horse trailer parking available by reservation. Contact us to reserve horse trailer parking.

Accessibility accommodations:

Everyone deserves equitable access to nature. Please visit our Accessibility page or email ada@openspaceauthority.org for questions, concerns or specific accessibility resource requests.   

Emergency Information:

For emergencies or to report suspicious activity, please call 911.

Due to the sensitivity of this habitat, dogs and drones are not permitted anywhere on the preserve. 

Activities
Biking
Connecting to Nature
Environmental Education
Hiking
Horseback Riding
Download Map

Trail maps are georeferenced for use in Avenza Maps

Looking down a hillside covered in golden grass across the South Bay Area to dark hills where a bright yellow sun is setting over a blue sky
Located high in the Eastern foothills of Santa Clara County, Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve offers sweeping views of the Santa Clara Valley and greater San Francisco Bay Area.
A trail marker in the font left side of the photo points towards a trail leading down a grassy hillside towards rolling green mountains in the distance, under a clear light blue sky
Sierra Vista features nine miles of multi-use trails, including 6.7 miles of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a regional trail system that will someday stretch more than 550 miles along the ridge lines that encircle San Francisco Bay.
Close-up image of a golden eagle flying with brown wings outstretched and an out-of-focus green background
Visitors of Sierra Vista can often spot raptors, such as hawks and golden eagles, flying overhead.
Rolling green hills with trails winding through them, under a bright blue sky
At Sierra Vista, visitors can stroll through diverse landscapes including oak woodlands, rolling grasslands and chaparral habitats.

Know Before You Go

Preserve Highlights & Features

Located in the Eastern foothills of Santa Clara County, Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve offers sweeping views of the Valley and the opportunity to stroll through diverse landscapes including oak woodlands, rolling grasslands and chaparral habitats. Perched above Alum Rock Park, the area protects watersheds, areas of land that absorb water for it to flow into streams and reservoirs, like Penitencia Creek. Sierra Vista is home to several protected wildlife species including the California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, American badger,Western burrowing owl and other species such as golden eagles, mountain lions, bobcats and gray foxes.

This preserve features nine miles of multi-use trails, including 6.7 miles of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a regional trail system that will someday stretch more than 550 miles along the ridge lines that encircle San Francisco Bay.

An aerial view of Sierra Vista's rolling gold hillsides with trails winding across them. Beyond the hills is an expansive view of Santa Clara Valley below, under a clear blue sky.
2002
Opened to the public
Rolling green hills with trails winding through them, under a bright blue sky
9
miles of trails
dirt trail with dry grasses in the foreground and green mountains against a blue sky with few clouds
1,611
acres protected

Upcoming Events at this Preserve

There are no events for this preserve at this time.

Related Nature

Here are some of the plants and animals that other visitors have observed at this preserve and recorded in iNaturalist. Protected species may be excluded and some species may not yet have been observed.

Funding for this Preserve

The Open Space Authority acquired Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve in 2000, in partnership with Peninsula Open Space Trust and paid for by the Open Space Authority’s District 1 benefit assessment and the generous support of the Coastal Conservancy, Prop 12 and the Bay Area Ridge Trail.

Learn More

Sign up for our newsletter

Sign up for our monthly emails to get updated on upcoming events and Open Space Authority news!