Free Republic

For the first time in 37 years, the summit of Mt. Umunhum is open to the public. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District on Saturday hosted a ceremony to mark the long-awaited occasion. "We’re thrilled to invite the community to create Mount Umunhum’s next chapter as one of the Bay Area’s great publicly accessible peaks and nature destinations,” said the district's General Manager Steve Abbors. Situated within the 18,000-acre Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve south of Los Gatos, Mt. Umunhum has been closed since 1980. It was at that time that the former Almaden Air Force Station, which sits on...

Thirty-seven years after the U.S. Air Force shut down a mountain-top radar station in the hills south of San Jose that scanned the skies for Soviet bombers during the Cold War, the summit of Mount Umunhum is finally opening to the public this week as a new park, with stunning views of San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, a public agency that owns the 3,486-foot peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains east of Los Gatos, spent $25 million over eight years on the project. Supporters say the new summit, which visitors will...

At long last the wait is over: Closed to the public since 1980, the summit of Mount Umunhum will finally open starting Sept. 16. The grand opening weekend celebration of the prominent 12-acre mountaintop, located within the 18,000-acre Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve south of Los Gatos, will include events and activities welcoming the public to the peak and inviting them to experience its panoramic vistas, rich cultural history and restored natural environment. Nearly 5 miles of new trails, now under construction, will offer dramatic views to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Impatiently, local mountain-lovers have long awaited the opening...