A 44-space parking lot—with room for an additional eight horse trailers—is being built by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District on Bear Creek Road to increase access to hiking and equestrian trails. Joseph J. Albanese Inc. won the contract with a bid of $1,904,963. Construction started in late May. The Grand Opening is tentatively scheduled for the end of the year. The lot will feature public restrooms and electric vehicle charging, and will provide access to a loop trail.
Meanwhile, local nonprofit Friends of Bear Creek Stables has taken over management of nearby Bear Creek Stables. Midpen is planning to invest several million dollars into repairing the stable in the years ahead. Currently capital projects at Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve are in Phase 0, in anticipation of certain criteria being completed.
Friends of Bear Creek Stables was initially required to raise $250,000 in order to get the long-term management contract for the horse boarding facility. They took over with a ribbon-cutting on July 1. Midpen, a public agency, was spearheaded by a woman named Nonette Hanko in 1972 in Palo Alto. The entire Preserve is nearly 1,500 acres, which includes Bear Creek Stables and the land where the parking lot is being built.
Rick Parfitt, the president of Friends of Bear Creek Stables, attributes his success to the team of experts they’ve recruited as part of plans to launch nature-based programs and equine activities to the public. “We need parking for the preserve, because the one at Alma College is only about 53 spots,” said Melany Moore, who serves on the board of Friends of Bear Creek Stables.
“A bad experience here would be if too many people showed up one day, because we have to be careful around horses,” said Parfitt.
Parfitt says his main thrust is to make Bear Creek Stables a place for the entire community, a place where people can feel safe and welcome.
“One of our goals is to make all people feel welcomed. We are a diverse population,” said Parfitt.
Toni Kent, the owner of Los Gatos Farms, who attended the July 1 ribbon-cutting, said she was “so thankful to see the horse stable reopening, even in its limited scope. It will help keep the equine experience available for more people.” Kent has been tending to horses on her 30-acre lot for the last 26 years, and has been keeping up with the goings on at Bear Creek Stables over the last decade or so, with the changes in operators.
In terms of things to expect, Parfitt says they’ll soon have egg-laying chickens at the stables.
Midpen is currently guided by their 2017 plan for the area. Prior to the organization buying the land from Peninsula Open Space Trust, developers had plans to turn the landscape into housing and a golf course. The land was preserved in 1999.
Rachael Parakh, who volunteers as the public relations director and secretary for Friends of Bear Creek Stables, says working on Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve projects has been a dream come true for her. “Spending my days advocating for rural stables, witnessing the public’s joy when meeting horses, and designing print campaigns that bring awareness to nature is thrilling,” she said. Moore grew up in Monte Sereno on a small family farm with animals and has had an affinity for local history, old barns and open spaces. “I am honored to work with Friends of Bear Creek Stables, the equestrian community and Midpen to save this historic Stables, as a gem for the Bay Area.”
“It has been a safe place for people to reconnect with nature and animals. I have served as the Friends’ ecological chairperson, and currently as vice president since 2014, when the founders put out a plea for the community to attend a Midpen meeting to save Bear Creek Stables.”
When Anita Enander learned that Bear Creek Stables might be the next public stable to close, she signed-up to volunteer. “It has been an honor to work collaboratively with Midpen and now with the Friends of Bear Creek Stables to plan for a new future,” she said. “I’ve owned horses most of my life and been able to apply what I’ve learned as a business owner to serving the public as a council member and mayor in nearby Los Altos. But Los Gatos is still my first home.” Peggy Kauffman, another booster, said she knows the effect horses have on a person’s soul. “They teach us to control our emotions and to communicate clearly and fairly with others,” she said. “I became active in trying to preserve this wonderful facility after I, and my horses, had left Bear Creek Stables.”
Midpen spokesperson Ryan McCauley said they’re excited about the future of Bear Creek Stables. “Clearly the community is passionate about the success of the stables,” he said. “Some of our meetings had up to 100 people advocating for the future of the stables and public programming. At Midpen, we’re excited to partner with the community to make sure that this is something that serves not just Los Gatos, but potentially the whole South Bay.”
