Portola Pastures Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Wildflowers · Wildlife

The Enid Pearson-Arastradero Preserve trails are either crushed gravel or dirt, making them ideal for running. Most of the gravel trails are wide while most of the dirt trails are narrow (2-3 feet wide). Depending on the weather, some areas might be muddy and turned up due horses and mountain bikers using the trail. It is important to be alert to your surroundings due to the trail being shared with horseback riders and mountain bikers. Hikers and runners are asked to yield to horses for everyone's safety.

The Portola Pastures Trail is a heavily used horseback riding trail, so it's rougher than the other trails in the preserve.

The Portola Pastures Trailhead is accessed via the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail and then taking a right onto the Meadowlark Trail and climbing the hill. When the Meadowlark Trail takes off to the left, the Portola Pastures Trail continues straight ahead and transforms from a wider gravel trail into a narrow, singletrack dirt trail. It winds around the hill as it begins to drop down to the road that runs along the preserve.

Unlike most of the trails in the preserve, this trail is rough due to the heavy horse use that this trail receives. Horseshoe marks are seen all along the trail, especially if it has been wet. Views of the Redtail Loop Trail are on the right side of the trail. Wildflowers bloom along the trail in the late winter and early spring. The trail drops to below street level where it crosses a small creek via a wooden bridge and then cuts back to the right before it climbs slightly to street level. There are more wildflowers in bloom here as it approaches the road. It can be muddy along the road if there has been rain recently, causing more water to flow along the road than normal.

Once you arrive at the road, you have several options. You can retrace your steps and do further exploring in the preserve, or you can cross the road and meet up with the Redtail Loop Trail. If you go straight on the Redtail Loop Trail following the road, this will lead you back to the parking area.

Fauna - Deer, coyotes, bobcats, rattlesnakes, turkeys, hawks, turkey vultures, and other varieties of birds can be seen in the area. Mountain lion sightings have been reported in the area, so keep an eye out.