Let’s all be good park visitors! Be sure to hike single file on narrow trails, keep six feet away from others, do not congregate with people who aren’t from your household, and carry face coverings. Please also be extra careful not to leave litter on the trails.
In 2005, volunteers began transforming the area around the Bill and Jean Lane Education Center from a mass of non-native weeds and brambles into an accessible native garden. Today, the native garden covers approximately ½ acre and features over 100 native plants found at Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve.
Each week our docents hike the preserve and track what’s in bloom. Year-round, they cover the major trails and the native garden. There’s always something flowering at Edgewood!
Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve has something for everyone. We are San Mateo County’s only natural preserve with extraordinary biodiversity and over ten miles of trails in just 467 acres. Minutes from downtown Redwood City, Edgewood includes precious native grasslands, oak woodlands, and chaparral habitats. The main ridge in the center of the preserve, known as Inspiration Heights, rises 800 feet in elevation, where hikers are rewarded with spectacular views of Skyline Ridge, Huddart Park, the San Andreas Fault Zone, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and the San Francisco Bay. Check out this short video from Bay Area Bountiful to learn more about what makes Edgewood special.
The federally threatened Bay checkerspot butterfly once thrived in Edgewood’s native grasslands, but by 2002 it had disappeared. Learn about our efforts to bring this iconic species back!
Join a Friends of Edgewood docent for a guided Spring Wildflower Hike. Free hikes will be offered March through May. Reserve your ticket at friendsofedgewood.eventbrite.com. New hikes will be added each week throughout the season.
Edgewood hosts more than 560 plant species, more than 100 bird species, 21 mammal species, 13 reptile and amphibian species, and countless invertebrates. Check out our online Field Guides below or stop by the Bill and Jean Lane Education Center to learn more about the plants and creatures that call Edgewood home.
General online tools for identifying plants and animals
Seek by iNaturalist – This easy-to-use app helps you identify just about any life form. Just open the app and point your camera (you don’t even have to take a photo!). Or, open a photo you’ve already taken. Unlike iNaturalist, this app doesn’t require an account or collect data (like your location), so it is only used to identify things, not to contribute to citizen science, and is kid-friendly. This app fully downloads to your device, so you can use it offline.
iNaturalist – Use this app and/or website to explore and share observations of all life forms. You can browse data without an account, but to post observations, you need to create a free account. You can get identification suggestions, and upload and track all of your observations. The app does not fully download to your device, so you cannot use it offline.
For apps and/or websites specific to birds and plants, see those Field Guides.
