Beatty property / photo by Midpen staff

Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections

Beatty property (Midpen staff)
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Project Meeting: Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 1 p.m.

This meeting will begin at the Miller Point Entrance to the Lexington Reservoir County Park, located at 10000 Alma Bridge Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95033. This meeting will include a walking site tour, so please bring appropriate attire. Due to technical constraints, this meeting will not be accessible via Zoom. 

We encourage you to RSVP to the meeting to ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations. 

At this meeting, Midpen’s Planning & Natural Resources Committee will receive an update on the project and recommend a strategic direction. This project aims to improve public access by developing parking and creating a trail connection from the property in southeastern Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, near Lexington Reservoir, to the existing Priest Rock Trail, enhancing regional trail connectivity.

During the initial planning phase of the project, Midpen became aware of ongoing concerns with mortality of newts attempting to cross Alma Bridge Road and deferred the project until the newt mortality issue was better understood. Since the project was deferred, Midpen has been working with Santa Clara County and other partners to complete a multi-year newt mortality study along Alma Bridge Road and develop alternatives to improve habitat connectivity across the road. With a design solution now identified for newt passage, the committee will consider options for the Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project.

Agenda

Currently on hold, the Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project aims to develop public access and parking in the southeastern region of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, which is also known as the Cathedral Oaks area. The project site and surrounding open space lands include rolling grasslands, oak woodlands and riparian habitat that support a diverse community of endemic plants and wildlife, including 24 special-status species. The area also has historic significance due to its association with the pioneer community of Alma, which is now submerged beneath the Lexington Reservoir.

Beatty Project area map

 

Public Access, Education, and Outreach
Public Access
Grant Funded
Grant Funded
illustration of a bird in flight next to the letters MAA
Measure AA

In 2008, Midpen purchased the 57-acre property where the project site is located with funding assistance from Santa Clara County as part of an ongoing collaboration to expand the existing greenbelt in the Lexington Reservoir and Soda Springs Creek watershed. Located south of Los Gatos on the eastern side of Alma Bridge Road and Lexington Reservoir, the property abuts San Jose Water Company lands, through which a trail easement was gifted to Midpen in 1999 to create a trail connection to the popular Priest Rock Trail in the Sierra Azul Preserve. A public visioning process that was undertaken in 2012 and 2013 identified developing public access and parking in the southeastern region of Sierra Azul Preserve, which is also known as the Cathedral Oaks area, as a community priority. Midpen sought to begin fulfilling the public's vision (see Portfolio 22 in the 2014 Vision Plan) with the Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections project.

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On January 13, 2021, the Midpen Board of Directors voted to defer the planning of a parking area and multiuse trail connection to Priest Rock Trail until a road-related newt mortality study could be completed. The fieldwork portion of the study is finished and a draft report is currently under stakeholder review.

Funded by Measure AA logo

Funding

Developing public access and parking in the Cathedral Oaks area of Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is supported by voter-approved Midpen Measure AA funds.

Additional Funding

The trail connection project is funded in part by a grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Related Documents

Select a design alternative for Sierra Azul Beatty House (April 2020)

Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project Update (September 2020)

Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections Project Options (January 2021)

CEQA Scoping for Beatty House Removal and Site Restoration Project (February 2021)

Review Beatty House Alternatives and Confirm Board Direction (March 2021)