Fremont Older Open Space Preserve

Fremont Older Open Space Preserve covers about 740 acres of hayfields, orchards, and oak-covered hills on the edge of Cupertino and Saratoga, reaching toward Mount Eden Road and Stevens Creek County Park. It is named for Fremont Older, a noted San Francisco newspaper editor who, with his wife Cora, owned part of the land for 60 years. Their home, "Woodhills," was once a gathering place for well-known figures of the day and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; when Midpen bought the property in 1975, local publishers Mort and Elaine Levine leased and restored the house, which remains a private residence closed to the public.

The remaining hayfields and fruit trees date to 1910, when Maisie Garrod and her brother R.V. Garrod bought land here for pasture, orchards, and hay. Maisie's Peak, the preserve's highest point, is reached from the Prospect Road lot by the Cora Older, Seven Springs Loop, Hayfield, and Coyote Ridge trails, with sweeping views of the Santa Clara Valley. A popular 2.5-mile loop climbs the Cora Older Trail to the Seven Springs and Woodhills trails and the 900-foot hilltop of Hunters Point before returning on the Hayfield Trail.

Leashed dogs, bikes, and horses are allowed on designated trails; some trails close to bikes and horses in wet weather. The Prospect Road lot in Saratoga has 21 spaces, and more parking is available in adjacent Stevens Creek County Park.