Campsite Review: Foothills Park

Location:
Foothills Park
3300 Page Mill Road
Los Altos Hills, CA

Note that this park is open to Palo Alto residents and their guests only — proof of residency is required at the park entrance.

I camped here as part of a NCWHL group event, made possible by the awesome Lisa and Shannon.  Thanks for setting everything up, ladies!  Hockey friends, camping, and motorcycling all in one trip…* happysigh *

Date of visit:
June 30-July 1, 2012

Weather:
Gorgeous!  It was in the mid 70s during the day and cooled off to the high/mid 60s while sitting around the campfire.  The overnight low in my tent was 60F.

Campground Condition:

*Absolutely wonderful, and I’m not just saying that because our friend Lisa is a ranger at the park. 😉  The sites were in excellent condition, the trails were well marked and clean — even the port-a-potties were in good shape and didn’t stink.

* The campground at Foothills Park is called Towle Camp and it has 7 sites (Map of Towle Camp here).  Sites #1 and #5 can hold up to 16 campers; the rest up to 8.

* The sites are walk-in but the parking area is very close by (see map above).

* The campsites have decent privacy.  You can see the sites from one another but they’re not right on top on each other.  There’s enough tree cover to have good shade.

* Each individual site has a BBQ, food locker, water spigot, and picnic table.  The “double” sites (#1 and #5) have 2 picnic tables and 2 BBQs.

* There are three Port-A-Potties in the parking lot area.  They’re large, clean, and as inoffensive as Port-A-Potties can reasonably be.  No complaints here.

* Towle Camp has fire restrictions; you can BBQ with charcoal at the individual sites but wood fires are restricted to two communal fire pits, one near site #1 and the other near site #5.  I didn’t go to the pit at site #5, but the one at #1 had wooden benches.

What to do (copied from below website):

* There are fifteen miles of hiking trails, which offer a variety of hiking experiences.  The longest hike is the Los Trancos Trail, which is 7.5 miles.  The Toyon Self-Guided Nature Trail enables you to learn about nature at your own pace.

* Fishing is permitted in Boronda Lake with a license only.  The lake is stocked with bass, catfish, and sunfish.  While swimming is prohibited you can enjoy the lake with your non-motorized and hand-launched boat.  Canoes are also available for rent on the weekends and holidays from May 1st to October 31st, weather permitting.

More info:  Foothills Park website

Additional photos:

These pics have nothing to do with the campground but since I rode to camping and I like the photos, I’m including them. 😉

OK, back to the campground!

Our site (#2):

Bridget and Shannon show off the double-BBQ at site #1:

The double picnic table at site #1 easily fit nine hungry hockey players!

The fire pit near site #1:

Along Chemise Trail towards the Arbolejo Overlook:

At the overlook (I would like to point out that I am the tallest person in this photo!):

Deer frolicking in Orchard Glen:

The last half-mile of road from Orchard Glen to Towle Camp is technically unpaved but is still very doable by a street bike!