This has been an exceptional season for natives, thanks to the late rains. I have been walking up Black Mountain via Sundevil and the Manzanita loop quite a bit and I was really struck by the display of Canchalagua (Centaurium venustum).

Please notice that Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th some sections of the trails in the Preserve will be closed. Volunteers and park rangers will be on location from 7 AM to 3 PM while pesticide application takes place

In the canyons of Los Penasquitos Preserve, a uniquely social species of woodpecker thrives. They are the Acorn Woodpeckers, named after their diet of acorns. They utilize a communal granary or acorn tree to store or cache their live oak acorns from season to season. Being skillful at drilling holes is one of their gifts.

Hello friends, due to the Coronavirus the Friends are reluctantly canceling all hikes and restoration events through June 15. We won’t publish our new events calendar until the virus emergency has passed. Meanwhile, enjoy the trails with your family, but keep the appropriate distance, about 6’, from other people.