Mora Trail

Mora Trail is more of a «back access» path to Rancho San Antonio than it is its own preserve. The trail itself is shaded and beautiful, but the route options are limited, making it less of a destination than a gateway to your hike. That being said, the route via Mora bypasses the more congested trails (by the farm, for example) and puts you at some great Rancho San Antonio loops like Wildcat Canyon.
The issue with Mora is parking. There are between 4 and 6 spots available on the side of the road, and Los Altos Police patrol the street frequently to issue tickets to those parked in front of private property. If you aren’t lucky and don’t time your hike right, you’ll have to add a hilly, paved mile or two just walking to and from legal parking. Bu

We walked the Mora trail as part of a 4 mile loop in about 1.5 hours since this route does not have much elevation gain except for the hill at the Mora trail. The Mora trail is open and has beautiful views of the park but most of the rest of the route was shaded. At 9am the mist was still hanging over the hills. We parked at the lower main parking lot and walked the following route — Permanente Creek trail, Lower Meadow trail, Mora trail, Rogue Valley trail connecting to Coyote trail, the Hill trail and then the service road back to the parking lot.

Big smiles, everybody –Jonathan Mora (Earth-​31 916)
Jim Mora’s playoff rant did not seem appropriate here as the lead quote. But as the days shorten, when you get a chance to hit a mid week trail head you take it! DEfinite big smiles!
After Glenn G’s Bohemian Rhapsody of a review, when we got together for some more Bro time, this was an easy trail to hit. Like Glenn wrote, parking is difficult to find thanks to street signs prohibiting daytime parking but there are a few good spots.
This is the back ways trail into the Rancho San Antonio Open Preserve and County Park but I’d like to clear up some confusion you see on the web. A lot of people list the the Open Preserve, including my very intelligent friend, as 165 acres. When I read that number it just seemed instinctively wrong. It seems the Preserve is 3,988-acres but it is the adjoining County Park that is 165 acres. However a lot of people on the Web list the whole Preserve at 165 acres. So correct those links people so that Unilocalers can provide the correct info!!! ;)
The trails here are quite lovely and except on the return loop we were thankfully devoid of seeing too many humans. Except one douchebag with a pony tail who ran up behind Glenn and I, went fast in the middle between us and then yelled back as the entitled hipster he lives his life as with a :“Hey, the trails are for sharing!”. I think I yelled something back like: «Yeah, I’ll remember that the next time I grow eyes in the back of my f#^%&ing head you pony haired moron!» I so wanted to run that guy down and headbutt him a few times to show him how I share a trail but Glenn being the cool mediator counseled it wasn’t worth it and to let it go.
Other than that few minutes of ridiculousness, it was a lovely hike with beautiful views and the requisite deer and wild turkeys. When in the area, I would definitely seek this out as it is far less crowded than the main Rancho San Antonio entrances. Just watch out for the entitled pony haired freaks who think the people ahead of them read minds or have multiple eye sockets.
Highly recommended (except for pony haired douches. You types stay away).

If you don’t find what you want at the front door, sometimes its better to go around to the back door before you try another place entirely…
Mora Trail is a «back door» into Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve.
Northern California has some of the most beautiful hiking/​running venues ANYWHERE! Many are within spitting distance of major urban centers, but the usual rule of thumb is: the more beautiful and pristine the venue, the more remote it is. Covering 3,988 acres, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve has always been something of an exception to this; nestled in the foothills below Skyline Ridge, the terrain is beautiful, varied, and honeycombed with trails. The trail difficulty ranges from flat, paved stretches tame enough for the most fragile grandma, to kick-​ass ascents that would leave Rambo gasping; small wonder that Rancho is one of Santa Clara County’s most popular parks.
The down side of Rancho San Antonio is that it gets crowded near the entrances — ridiculously so on the weekends. On most Sunday mornings, even the PG&E trail leading up from the Equestrian entrance has families stacked twelve deep, and Downtown Disney on July 4^th seems almost empty by comparison.
Because the trailhead is more than a little off the beaten path, and parking is strictly forbidden within a half mile radius of it,
Mora Trail is not for any but the most serious hikers and runners. For those who are decidedly not faint of heart, it offers back door access to Rancho’s pristine, little-​used trails; the ones that start miles from the two main entrances and are clear on the opposite side of The Farm. This is NOT the place to go if you want to wheel your stroller into the petting zoo, or try out Grandma’s new walker!

There are many routes you can follow once you leave the relatively short Mora Trail and enter Rancho proper; anything from a one or two mile out-​and-​back to an all-​day excursion is yours for the taking if you’re serious about avoiding the crowds. The route that follows is one Ive been enjoying quite a lot lately; its a beautiful loop through several trails that ends with a double-​back that deposits you back at the trailhead after just under an hour and fifty minutes at a brisk hiking pace:
1) Right at the trailhead entrance.
2) Left toward Ravensbury Trail.
3) Right at the fork, then straight across the path to the sign; up toward Wildcat Loop Trail.
4) Right toward Wildcat Loop Trail.
5) Left and up toward Upper High Meadow Trail.
6) Left and down toward Upper Wildcat Canyon Trail.
7) Left and up toward Wildcat Loop Trail.
8) Left and down toward Wildcat Loop Trail; double-​back begins.
9) Across the path then immediately left at the fork; your going correctly when you’re heading 90 degrees away from all the arrows on the sign.
10) Right and up to Mora Trail; return to the trailhead and exit.
Teal’c, my yellow Labrador Retriever, would absolutely love this place! Unfortunately, as in all of Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, no pets are allowed — unless you have a pet horse. Maybe if I buy a saddle for Teal’c, nobody would notice — he certainly wants to eat enough to pass for a horse…