Inside the Hawthorns: How to Walk Portola Valley's Closed Preserve This Winter, and What's Being Decided at Alpine and Portola
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
In 2011 the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District accepted the Hawthorns property from the Woods Family Trust. At the time it was the largest private land gift Midpen had ever received. The 79 acres have stayed closed to the public ever since. Today the most disputed part of the plan to open them is a parking area of about 25 spaces.
Most people in town know the property only as the gated land between Alpine Road and Los Trancos Road, near the Alpine and Portola intersection. The next decision is where visitors will drive in and how that driveway will meet the Alpine Trail that children use to bike to school.
Midpen is committed to opening the land. Priority Action #6 of its Vision Plan and Portfolio #6 of Measure AA, the 30-year bond voters approved in 2014, both pledge to "open the Hawthorns Area." A Public Access Working Group of Town residents, interest-group representatives and one member from each of Midpen's seven wards drafted recommendations for trails and parking. The Midpen Board approved them on March 12, 2025.
The draft plan would open about 66 acres to on-trail use. It adds roughly 1.5 miles of new trail, made up of an internal loop and spurs to viewpoints with benches, plus connections to the Town's Alpine Trail. Most segments in the current draft are shared-use, open to hikers, bicycles, leashed dogs and horses. One segment is hiking-only. A link toward the Sweet Springs Trail is treated as a future feasibility question. It would be hiking-only and would need coordination with and approval from the Town and Portola Valley Ranch.
About 13 acres in the southeast corner, known as the Historic Complex, are excluded from the plan. Several of its structures date to the late 1800s. That area stays closed until a separate site-specific planning process is done. On December 10, 2025, the Midpen Board deferred that project until after the Area Plan is adopted and its first implementation steps are underway.
Once those 66 acres are open, visitors will need somewhere to park, and that is where the debate is.
On May 6, 2026, the Midpen Board voted 6-0 to accept the draft action table and the schematic parking designs as the project description for environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act. Both parking options remain in that review.
Several features are the same in both. Each starts with about 25 standard spaces and could grow to no more than 50 if demand regularly exceeds capacity. Any expansion would go back to the Board first. Each has ADA spaces, a vault toilet and trailhead signage. Neither has parking for horse trailers. The main difference is where the driveway meets the road.
| Option 9 | Option 10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Reuses the existing Alpine Road driveway | New 20-foot driveway at the Alpine and Portola intersection |
| Intersection | Stays a three-way stop | Becomes a four-way stop |
| Alpine Road Trail crossings | One, set back about 20 feet into the preserve | Two: the new driveway and the staff residence driveway |
| Mature oaks retained along the trail | About seven | About four |
| Initial and maximum spaces | About 25, up to 50 | About 25, up to 50 |
Midpen's staff report expects little added traffic delay. The Alpine and Portola intersection now runs at a B level of service during weekday morning and evening peaks, with 10.3 to 12.9 seconds of delay. It runs at an A on weekend peaks, with 8.6 seconds. The report concludes that a fourth leg used only now and then would add a marginal wait. It also notes that any changes the Town requires at the intersection under Option 10 could raise project costs.
Local objections have focused on what each driveway means for people walking and biking along Alpine Road.
Over the spring and summer of 2026, three Town committees weighed in. In an April 20 letter, the Open Space Committee called both parking proposals a concern because of their hillside setting beside the Alpine Trail and the busy Alpine and Portola intersection. It recommended looking into legal representation and a possible Town acquisition. According to its May 1 minutes, the Bicycle, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee voted unanimously to support that letter, citing environmental impact, safety at the intersection and cost. On June 19, the Trails & Paths Committee urged that Alpine Trail safety improvements be delivered early, especially for children biking to school.
The Portola Valley School District followed on August 26. Superintendent Roberta Zarea said the options "are not acceptable to our district," pointing to roughly 100 students who use the route each day and to the difficulty of adding another crossing guard, according to her published remarks. A statement on behalf of the district board, from Clerk Robert Bauer, cited Zarea's estimate of more than 36,000 student crossings of the proposed access road each year. The statement objected that Option 9 would move the Alpine Trail behind the parking lot. It also offered Corte Madera School parking for at least 50 cars: all day on non-school days, and after 4:30 p.m. on school days.
Midpen's Hawthorns FAQ, updated in August 2026, describes the trail crossing another way. It says the Alpine Road Trail would be rerouted to cross the driveway farther into the site, so trail users would not meet a car waiting to pull out onto the road. It also says traffic data will be updated during environmental review. On shared parking, the FAQ says Roberts Market, Alpine Hills and Corte Madera School were not willing to share their lots. The district's August offer of Corte Madera parking at set times is the most recent statement on that point.
The conservation easement is also in dispute. The easement is held by the Peninsula Open Space Trust and permits public access and supporting facilities such as parking. Midpen's view is that parking around the edge of the developed portion fits the easement. The Town Open Space Committee and the school district argue that the proposed locations conflict with it. These are the positions of the parties involved. None of them is a legal ruling.
The Town Council has appointed Vice Mayor Mary Hufty and Councilmember Judith Hasko to a joint committee with the Portola Valley School District Board. The committee will look at Alpine Road Trail safety along the Hawthorns frontage. The Town calendar lists a PVSD–Town Council 2x2 committee meeting for Monday, November 16, at 5 p.m.
Midpen's FAQ lays out the formal public input in three stages:
The FAQ's broad schedule puts implementation in 2028 or later. The Hawthorns Area Plan project page is where Midpen posts project updates.
Midpen's opening plan includes continuing the docent-led outings, which are currently the only way most people get inside. The next one is Exploring the Hawthorns Area on Saturday, January 16, 2027.
Midpen's activity guidelines require every participant to sign a waiver. Dogs are allowed only on outings labeled as dog activities, and this walk is not one of them. The last walk on the schedule was Wandering the Hawthorns Area on April 9, 2026, about nine months before the January date.
Upper Windy Hill has more on the calendar before January 16. The Windy Hill preserve page lists:
Midpen advises that trail closures can change without notice, so check its trail conditions page before heading out.
If you own property near Alpine and Portola and want to talk through how a long-term change at that corner fits into your own ownership plans, Robinson & Co is glad to have that conversation. Contact Us whenever it would help.
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