Top 10 Natural Monuments around Stanford

The hike from Razorback Ridge trailhead to the Windyhill summit is mostly through shaded sections. Sections of it kept cool from the fog rolling in from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The final section, Anniversary Trail is out in the open but has nice views of the bay.

Gerona Road area is quiet and residential; it is also flat, well-paved and surrounded by some cool trees. Perfect for an easy ride.

This park is named for a Puerto Rican attorney who helped get a family claim to these lands recognized, then played a major role in the street planning for Redwood City. He donated the land for the park, which includes basketball and tennis courts, a playground, picnic facilities, and an M5 tank, which was placed here as a memorial to those who served in both world wars. It's worth parking your bike to take a look.

Windy Hill Summit, located at an elevation of 1,905 feet within the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, offers great views of Silicon Valley and the Peninsula. The preserve stretches 1,132 acres along the east side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, coming up from the valley road near Portola Valley to this scenic summit. It’s a great spot to watch the sunset and take in views.

A large open area of scrub, brush and hilly field. There is a parking lot here and access to several walking trails.

Great place to get a view of the historical rolling foothills of Byrne Preserve, which will change in color throughout the year, from bright green in the spring to a toasty yellow once the summer hits.

The 1.67 acres park on the corner of Warren Street and Standish Street offers grass lawns, a playground, tot-lot, basketball half court, tennis court, practice wall, picnic tables, and an Army tank, placed in 1947 at the request of the Veterans of Foreign Wars as a memorial to those who had served in the two world wars. The 16-ton M5 Stuart light tank was presented to the city by the American Legion as a war monument. In the 1850’s, all of what is now Redwood City was part of a large estate known as Rancho de las Pulgas. This estate belonged to the Arguello family, who had been granted the land by the government of Mexico in 1835. After the Mexican War, people began to settle along Redwood Creek, hoping that the U.S. government would refuse to recognize the Arguello’s right to the property. Simon M. Mezes, who had come from Puerto Rico to practice law in San Francisco, was hired by the Arguellos as an agent to protect their land title. In 1854 Mezes succeeded in clearing the Arguello family’s title. In return for this service, the Arguellos sold him a large portion of their estate. Mezes then proceeded to sell lots for $75 each to the people already living in the village on Redwood Creek. He also completed a survey for a map of the town, which he named Mezesville. Although this name has vanished into history, the present-day arrangement of Redwood City’s downtown streets can be traced to Mezes’ map. Mezes donated two blocks to Redwood City for plazas. In 1905 one of those blocks was turned into a park then known as California Square. The other block eventually became Mezes Plaza. In 1928 the Veterans Building was moved onto the Mezes Plaza block. Two years later, the park site was cleaned up and shrubbery was planted. Two tennis courts were built in 1934, and in 1937 playground equipment was installed. www.redwoodcityhistory.org/blog/2016/9/29/historical-blog-series-mezes-park-tank-park

Informative panels provide historical context for the former salt production ponds that were built into the fragile bay wetlands in the 19th century and are being partially restored to more natural wetlands in the past few decades.