Whiting Ranch Trail

one of our favorite hikes so far! you start in the canopy on borrego canyon trail until you hit mustard road/billy goat trail while working your way up to four corners. from there take a moment appreciate the views because it's straight back down into the canopy once you hit serrano cow trail. the overgrown trees that provide shade make it worth a stop or two to take pics. don't park in the ralph's parking lot, they will tow you! park across the street at mcdonald's if you cant find a spot at the park. the only negative is you have to take portola pkwy back the last half 1/3-1/2 mile to complete the loop. otherwise this would be a 5 star trail no doubt! will definitely be back!

Great place to hike during the weekdays. Knocked out the Billy Goat trail and The Red Rock Canyon trail, highly recommend! Start early to avoid the heat because there is little cloud cover.

It was a little challenging but overall perfect hike! Would do it again! It was so beautiful and a great accomplishment☺️

Easy, near home, but crowded on weekends.

The last part of this trail was on the road

This trail is beautiful and a good hike for trail enthusiasts, the scenery is awesome and the trails are moderate and pretty peaceful, and also nice to see quite of few animals as well !

I'm 50/50 about this trail. The 3 dollar parking fee is eh. You could risk parking in the shopping plaza area of Ralph's. However they have signs that say they will tow throughout the area. I didn't risk it and, just paid the 3 dollar fee. Lots of foot traffic on the weekend. This area does offer some amazing views. Animal control, and park rangers patrol the area. Animal control advised of rattlesnakes. Other hikers advised as well. I didn't see one until I got to the Red Rock canyon area. It went away once it saw me. At the beginning I saw families struggling with a baby stroller. I seriously don't recommend bringing one. Parts of the hike areas are super muddy. Bring good hiking boots. Do not bring trail shoes. I'm not sure if there are ways to avoid the muddy areas if you are looking to go further in. Bring a gallon of water, bug spray, and a good backpack. I recommend bringing pants, and a knife. The further you go. There are parts where the mosquitoes swarm the areas. A lot of the trails are closed the further you go in. I had to back track quite a bit. Due to back tracking. I had to hike in the dark. Glad I brought a good flashlight. There are reports of mountain lions in the area. I did see evidence of one. I saw mountain lion scat. Also I can't say for sure. I felt like one was stalking me at night. I kept hearing an animal moving through the bushes. It would get louder. When I yelled. The animal would move away. Another reason why I think it was a mountain lion. I passed a creek area that had frogs singing. Once I went through that area. The whole area went silent. Then I heard an animal move through the bushes again. It got louder this time. Once again it went away when I yelled. I yelled louder. This happened quite a few times until I got near the exit area. Again can't say for sure. Never saw what was moving through the bushes. I highly recommend going as a group if you plan on checking out most of the area. It's to easy to lose track of time. The area also offers some amazing views of stars at night. Also the Billy Goat trail has a lot of bees. Just be mindful when you go through that area. If you want a serious leg workout check this area out. You will sweat like no tomorrow. This is a good workout area if training for the military or any career job that is active. Good thing about the area as well it was hard to lose cell service. I had cell cover most of the time up there. I rarely lost cover. You are not really away from the city area. This hike area is more modern vs Black Star. Will I go again? Yes I will. I just wont go alone next time.

I like the variety of terrain and levels of trails here. Mountain bikers were polite and communicative which isn’t always the case on other shared trails. Today-Monday- was not crowded at the parking lot off of Glenn Ranch road( Portola Lot is closed for repairs). I was prepared with a bandana around my mouth and nose for the gnats and other bugs flying about. A hiker saw a rattlesnake. It is warm enough now for them To come out so be aware. Well-marked trails and the info kiosks seem to have updated maps and information. The DreadedHill was true to its name. The view was amazing. I chose to return is the SleepyHollow trail that provided much-needed shade. The creek was flowing and there was so much lush green and wild flowers everywhere. It’s so nice to have such a pretty space to escape to for solitude and to experience Nature as it should be .

It’s a trail for everyone from beginners to experts. A lot of shades during summer. It’s the most traffic trail because a lot of hikers and bikers on the weekends.

Well maintained trail .. lot of steep mountains which gives you a good workout. Pretty views too. Will do it again to get used

watch out for the mountain bikers. There are a lot of them. Other than that, take the left steep incline for a better workout experience!

To quote Homer Simpson, the end “Sucks Diddley Sucks. Almost 1/3 of a mile on PORTOLA PARKWAY. Put BS!

Be prepared to see wildlife!

Great place to run. Lots of challenging trails Trails are well marked.

On 30 Aug at 19:45 my wife sighted a mountain lion near the entrance before the creek at the time of exiting

Fabulous hike!! Last 3/4 of a mile is on Portola Parkway though...kind of a bummer to end such a gorgeous hike.

We did the 5.9 mi loop with kids (youngest was 9). Billy goat was best trail. I’d go up and back the same way. I didn’t like the last section walking on the street. Go up and back from Ralph’s.

The first 3/4 of the trail was nice but the last 1/4 was very disappointing.

great hike. it was about 5k. we saw lots of deer especially in the shaded canopy parts of the trail.

Great for kids

Great Hike!! Up and Down Hills with lots of beautiful Oak trees. Lots of good Photograph spots.