About 14 miles of trails ranging from different lengths and difficulties are available for use on the 739-acres of land at the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. The two featured lookout points, Maisie’s Peak and Hunters Point, offer stunning views of the valley below. The Maisie’s Peak trail is named after Maisie Garrod whose family owned a portion of the property from 1910 to 1980 for use as pasture, orchards, and hay. In 1980 Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District bought the property and have been maintaining and protecting the space since. Hunter’s Point trails offer less difficult alternatives to the more strenuous Maisie’s Peak hike.
Several trails overlook the unsightly Lehigh Southwest Cement Factory and quarries. This is significant because, thanks to the perseverance of your Loma Prieta Chapter, the Lehigh Southwest Cement Factory has been cited and is now being held accountable for contaminating the Permanente Creek with toxic discharges of selenium and other metals from the cement making processes. The company reached a settlement in which they will spend $5 million constructing and implementing a wastewater treatment facility to properly treat the plant’s toxic discharge. The actions of the Lehigh Southwest Cement Company were found to be violating the Clean Water Act as well as many of their permits.
Stopping the Lehigh Southwest Cement Company from further polluting Permanente Creek, and in turn the San Francisco Bay, is a huge win for the environment as now local ecosystems will no longer face the threats of this plant’s harmful pollution. The high concentrations of selenium in the Permanente Creek were toxic to fish, birds, and other animals using the creek as a means of survival. The construction of the wastewater treatment plant will aid in the process of restoring the Permanente Creek back to a more wildlife friendly location.
History
The preserve is well known for the history associated with it. The preserve gets its name from a well known San Francisco newspaper editor named Fremont Older. Fremont and his wife Cora owned and lived on part of the property for 60 years. In 1912, they purchased 200-acres of what is today’s Preserve for $10,000. Today, the Fremont’s home they built in 1914, coined “Woodhills”, has been restored and is now apart of the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors of the Preserve may tour the home in the spring when registered tours occur.
Wildlife
Some of the wildlife that has been seen at Fremont Older includes deer, coyotes, wild turkeys, gray foxes, and rattle snakes. The Preserve offers a variety of ecosystems such as grasslands, orchards, chaparrals, and forests. Visitors have spotted stinkhorn fungus growing along the Preserve as well as California poppy.
Support
The current owners of Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, are key supporters of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and both organizations support many of each other’s projects. Midpen and the Sierra Club share a mutual goal of preserving natural lands for the future use of generations of humans and wildlife to come. Support the Loma Prieta Chapter activism educating the public and elected officials about the importance of protecting Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. Become a member, donate to our conservation programs, and help one of the conservation teams described on our website.
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