Most of Rancho San Antonio's land belongs to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which owns a preserve of 2,180 acres. The parking lots at the main entrance sit on a much smaller piece. Santa Clara County Parks describes Rancho San Antonio County Park as 289 acres next to the Midpen preserve, and that county parcel holds every one of the six numbered lots off Cristo Rey Drive.
That split explains why the parking fix keeps slipping. Midpen manages the County Park under an agreement with the county, and right now the two agencies are negotiating a new long-term version of that agreement. Midpen has said in writing that its permanent carpool lot and its proposed welcome kiosk both wait on the outcome.
All of the Main-Entrance Parking Is on County Land
Midpen's preserve page lists capacity lot by lot. Each main-entrance lot carries the same label: located on Rancho San Antonio County Park land.
| Parking area | Standard spaces | ADA spaces | Land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 | 80, plus 2 equestrian | 4 | County Park |
| Lot 2 | 48 | 1 | County Park |
| Lot 3 | 22 | 2 | County Park |
| Lot 4 | 46 | 2 | County Park |
| Lot 5 | 30 | 0 | County Park |
| Lot 6 | 83 | 5 | County Park |
| Rhus Ridge Parking Area | 9 | 1 | Midpen preserve, north end |
Lots 1 through 6 add up to 309 standard spaces and 14 ADA spaces. The only public visitor lot the preserve page lists on Midpen's own land is the Rhus Ridge area at the north end, with 10 spaces. Midpen owns roughly seven times as much land as the county, yet about 97 percent of the posted spaces sit on the county's side of the line. Any change to how those spaces are assigned, whether that means reserving some for carpools or adding a staffed kiosk, happens on land Midpen runs under contract rather than owns.
Morning is when this matters. Midpen's 2024 shuttle and ride-hail study found mornings are the most popular time to visit on weekdays and weekends alike, and that the main-entrance lots often fill early on weekend mornings. The field notes in that study describe the lots as full right away on weekend mornings. When the team came back at 2:20 p.m., every lot was below 50 percent occupancy.
The Fixes Midpen Has Already Tried, in Order
Midpen has worked on this problem for more than five years. Its own project page records each step, and the sequence shows the easy options running out until only the land question was left.
- April 28, 2021. The Midpen board accepted the Rancho San Antonio Multimodal Access Strategies Report, prepared by IBI Group, and authorized a first set of priority strategies.
- August 2022. An electronic sign showing real-time parking availability went up at the preserve entrance, and the same data went online. In the same month, the lower equestrian lot at the Coyote Trail trailhead became carpool-only on weekends and holidays for vehicles with three or more people.
- November 2023. The carpool pilot ended. The board asked staff to start a new project evaluating long-term carpool options.
- April 24, 2024. After reviewing completed studies, the board voted not to start a shuttle program and not to start a subsidized ride-hail program at Rancho San Antonio.
- June 24, 2026. Midpen's adopted FY27 budget deferred the permanent carpool parking project.
With the shuttle and ride-hail programs set aside, the permanent carpool lot became the main structural fix still on the table. The board had already tested it for more than a year, which is why the reason for its deferral matters.
The Budget Line Holding Up the Carpool Lot
Midpen's adopted FY27 Budget and Action Plan lists the project as Rancho San Antonio Permanent Carpool Parking Implementation, with the stated purpose to "address parking congestion at Rancho San Antonio and implement board-approved priority." The budget gives this as the FY27 scope.
Project deferred until the future of the Rancho San Antonio long-term management agreement is decided with County Parks.
The budget then schedules design and environmental review to begin in FY28 and finish in FY29, with $355,000 projected across those two years. Under that schedule, the plan reaches the end of environmental review in FY29. Building the lot is not yet on the schedule.
Midpen's FY26 year-end report, dated September 23, 2026, connects the two pieces directly. It says the carpool project was deferred because of ongoing negotiations with Santa Clara County Parks about a new long-term agreement for operating and managing Rancho San Antonio County Park. That agreement, the report says, "will determine the feasibility for Midpen to implement a carpool lot within the park." The same report says outreach for the Rancho San Antonio Welcome Center Kiosk was delayed for the same reason.
The arrangement itself goes back a long way. A 2019 Midpen board report said Midpen had managed, patrolled and maintained the County Park under a multi-year agreement since July 1, 2002. As of the September 2026 report, negotiations on the next version were still underway, and Midpen's budget documents give no decision date.
A broader study has also slipped. In 2024, Midpen staff said a standalone Rancho San Antonio visitor-capacity study was not needed then, and pointed to a district-wide visitor use management and carrying capacity project expected to begin in FY26. The adopted FY27 budget now schedules that framework for FY28 and FY29.
What Still Works From the Los Altos Hills Side
None of the deferred projects change what the preserve already offers today. For hikers coming from Los Altos Hills, some of those options matter more than others.
The Rhus Ridge Parking Area is the entrance closest to town and the smallest, with 9 spaces plus 1 ADA space on the current preserve page. Midpen's 2021 study describes Rhus Ridge Road as a private residential road with public access to the preserve lot and no on-street parking. When those spaces are taken, the lot is full and there is nowhere along the road to park. The Town's General Plan also describes a Town-owned Rhus Ridge Preserve south of Moody Road, with a pathway leading into the neighboring Midpen lands.
The other tools fall to whoever plans the trip:
- Check before leaving. Midpen's parking status page at openspace.org/rsa-parking mirrors the electronic signboard at the entrance gate. When the 2024 study team visited, the counters were newly installed and still being tested, so on a busy morning the sign at the gate is the better check.
- Go later in the day. The same 2024 field notes found plenty of open spaces in the main lots by mid-afternoon.
- Get dropped off. There is a designated rideshare drop-off and pickup area in front of the restrooms in the main parking area.
- Ride in. Midpen has added bike racks at the Mora Trail entrance, the Deer Meadow Trail entrance and the open-air barn at Deer Hollow Farm, plus a bicycle repair station in the main parking area. Its bike facilities map shows a bike-friendly route that avoids the main entrance.
Midpen's preserve page also lists Silicon Valley Hopper, Cupertino's on-demand shared-ride service. It names Cupertino, southern Santa Clara and the Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara Caltrain stations as pickup areas. Los Altos Hills is not on that list. The City of Cupertino's Hopper page lists a $3.50 one-way fare and a $1.75 discounted fare.
On the Calendar Through December
Midpen's preserve page lists several group events at Rancho San Antonio this season, and a group outing is one more way to share a car.
- Thursday, November 5: volunteer trail maintenance at Rancho San Antonio
- Wednesday, November 18: Turkey Trot hike
- Monday, December 7: Winter Ramble
Closer to home, Hidden Villa on Moody Road holds free Trails Volunteer Days for trail maintenance and brushing, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers meet at the main lot and head out at 9:15 a.m. Remaining dates are November 10, 17 and 24 and December 1, 8, 15 and 22.
Midpen will make the next decision about Rancho San Antonio's parking only after the management agreement with County Parks is settled, and the FY27 budget sets aside the next two fiscal years for design and environmental review once it is.
At the Kiersten Ligeti & Patricia Karoubi Team, we follow public-access decisions like this one because the trailheads and preserves around Los Altos Hills are part of daily life for the households we work with. If you'd like to talk about how open-space access fits into your plans for a property in the hills, Book an Appointment and we'll walk through it with you.
