Saratoga officially opened its new 64-acre Saratoga Quarry Park on Halloween morning to the delight of the nearly 300 sneaker-clad residents that showed up to take part in the historic occasion. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by Mayor Howard Miller alongside Ann Walton Smith, a former mayor who started the project years ago with the goal of promoting public access and recreation. Others in attendance were county Supervisor Joe Simitian, state Sen. Jim Beall, Los Gatos councilmembers, and representatives from Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and San Jose Water Company.
Saratoga acquired the 64-acre property four years ago with a vision to develop local and regional trail connections, seeking to ultimately connect the park to the existing Skyline-to-the Sea trail, a 50-mile stretch of land leading to the Pacific Ocean. The city is awaiting approval from SJWC, which owns a part of the trail. John Tang, the company’s vice president of government relations and corporate communications, announced at the Oct. 31 ribbon-cutting that SJWC has agreed to work with the city to sort out a legal plan to make the Skyline-to-the Sea trail a reality.
“We got a public commitment from [the water company] to move forward with the process,” said Miller. “If we could line up everything, there’ll be another ribbon-cutting in Saratoga in three or four years.”
The portion of the park that is now open boasts hiking and walking trails, picnic areas, an informational kiosk, a restroom facility, parking area, new signs and a water bottle filling station. The park, at 22000 Congress Spring Road, is open seven days a week from dusk to dawn.
