Palo Alto Foothills Park Entrance Closes When Visitor Capacity Is Reached & Adjusts With Visitor Demand

Press release from the City of Palo Alto:

January 22, 2021

Grassroots Ecology manages habitat restoration projects throughout Silicon Valley and provides environmental stewardship and education opportunities for youth and adults. Environmental Volunteers promotes the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education. Through this environmental science education, children and adults become inspired by the natural world and responsible stewards of the environment.

Parks Staff working to reduce closure time when capacity allows

With Foothills Park newly open to everyone as of December 17, holidays and weekends have seen very high visitation. Foothills Park has reached max capacity numerous times, most frequently between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends. To address safety, traffic and other issues, a large number of visitors have been turned away.

Starting Saturday, January 9, when Foothills Park reached capacity the entrance to Foothills Park has closed (typically around 10 a.m.) and stayed closed until 3 p.m. Since that time, staff has tested different timeframes and has evaluated visitor patterns. Starting this weekend, Saturday, January 23, 2021, staff will implement a variable system based on visitor patterns, closing Foothills Park entrance when the park reaches capacity (potentially before 10am) and reopen as capacity allows, potentially before 2pm. While hikers and cyclists may continue to enter Foothills, visitors should note that parking is prohibited along most streets near the Foothills entrance gate. Blocking traffic on Page Mill Road is also prohibited. These approaches and other actions are to help manage the number of visitors in the park at one time and provide a safe, enjoyable and consistent experience for parkgoers, while protecting the natural resources at Foothills. If Foothills Park is at capacity, we encourage you to visit one of Palo Alto's other open spaces or parks or return at a later time.

Recent Council Actions on Establishing a Park Fee

On Monday, January 19, the City Council approved the first step to implement a temporary entrance fee. On February 1, the City Council will consider an urgency ordinance to establish a $6 per vehicle entry fee. If approved, staff estimates a weekend entry fee will be begin in mid-February and a weekday fee will begin later in the Spring. Several other actions were referred to the Parks and Recreation Commission to consider such as researching a permanent fee structure, including annual passes, a pass for seniors, evaluating an online registration system and more.

Seeking Foothills Park Docent Volunteers!

The City is seeking docent volunteers to help welcome visitors, answer questions and share Foothills Park information, and other support opportunities. If interested, please email Community Services at CSD@cityofpaloalto.org.

Our local Foothills Park partners are seeking volunteers too! Check out these partner volunteer opportunities:

• Grassroots Ecology manages habitat restoration projects throughout Silicon Valley and provides environmental stewardship and education opportunities for youth and adults.
• Environmental Volunteers promotes the understanding of and responsibility for the environment through hands-on science education. Through this environmental science education, children and adults become inspired by the natural world and responsible stewards of the environment.

Online Resources

For a map of Foothills Park (recently updated) go here: http://bit.ly/PAFoothillsParkMap

For a flyer on what to know before you visit Foothills Park, go here: English Flyer, Spanish Flyer

Read a recent Foothills Park How to Guide before you visit! Go here: http://bit.ly/FoothillsHowToGu...

For a recent blog about all our local partners committed to the future of Foothills Park, go here: http://bit.ly/FoothillsParkPartners

Learn more about the City’s open spaces here: cityofpaloalto.org/visitsafely.

This press release was produced by the City of Palo Alto. The views expressed here are the author’s own.