Stanford
Portola Terrace
Portola Valley Trails

Plan for Trails

Portola Terrace includes two trails, which will provide safe, public access to the large, wooded open space on the property in conformance with the Trails and Path Element of the Portola Valley General Plan.  

Trail Network

The goals of developing these trails are to: 

  • provide safe access to a variety of recreational experiences; 
  • minimize any disturbance to the natural terrain; and 
  • avoid intrusion on privacy in residential areas. 
Rendered trails with white annotations

Portola Terrace Loop Trail 

Stanford proposes a new publicly accessible looped trail route of about three-quarters of a mile in length that: 

  • has two connections to the Alpine Road trail, making it accessible from either the north or south; 
  • minimizes habitat degradation, avoiding changes to the natural flow of water; and 
  • does not intrude into the extremely steep hillside, minimizing disturbance to the natural terrain. 
     

Alpine Road Trail  

The Alpine Road Trail presently exists as a dirt equestrian path and runs primarily within the Alpine Road right-of-way. Some portions of the existing trail leave the Alpine Road right-of-way and meander onto the Stanford property. As part of the Portola Terrace residences: 

  • Stanford will agree to dedicate those portions on university property to the Town of Portola Valley for access for duration of the residences, with approval of the town; and 
  • the Dwight Crowder Path, which runs along the east side of Alpine Road could remain a pedestrian trail. 

The university will continue to coordinate with the Town of Portola Valley Public Works and Planning Department to build these trails to be consistent with the Town’s Trail Standards.