Beatty property / photo by Midpen staff

Beatty Parking Area and Trail Connections

Beatty property (Midpen staff)

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

 

Committee Meeting - October 21, 2025

Planning and Natural Resources Committee
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 1 p.m.

At this meeting, Midpen’s Planning & Natural Resources Committee will receive an update on the project and recommend a strategic direction to the full board of direction. This project, which aims to improve public access and regional trail connectivity near Lexington Reservoir, was initially deferred due to concerns over high newt mortality on the adjacent Alma Bridge Road. Midpen has since partnered with Santa Clara County and other agencies to study the issue and identify a design solution for a newt passage under the road.

With a design now identified for the adjacent Newt Passage Project led by Santa Clara County, the committee will now select the most strategic way to implement the Beatty Project. It will review and recommend one of two phased implementation options that integrate public access with critical funding for newt protection infrastructure:

  1. Implement a small, seasonal, permit-only parking area on the Beatty property, and contribute funding to build the specific section of the Newt Passage Project immediately adjacent to the Beatty property.
  2. Implement the trail connection and improve and share the use of the existing Miller Point Parking Area first, while contributing funding to build wildlife passage structures to the north in an area of higher newt mortality.
Agenda and Report Information
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.

Stay informed!

Sign up to receive updates and notifications about this project and Sierra Azul Preserve.

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)

Back to top