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Sanborn Park Hostel offers a warm setting to meet travelers. The surrounding redwood forest offers miles of hiking trails. The hostel encourages interpretive programing of the surrounding area and provides the resources for you to explore the museums and sites of Silicon Valley. Situated in what appears the middle of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the hostel is only 3.5 miles (5.6 km.) from Saratoga restaurants and grocery stores.

Originally named "Welch-Hurst" the log style house was built in 1908 as a summer home for the Honorable Judge James Welch and his family. The architecture of the building is unique for the time as only a handful of structures included the hexagonal room design seen in the dinning area. In 1955 Welch Hurst and surrounding lands were sold to Mr. Vernon Pick who previously made his fortune prospecting uranium in Utah. Interesting enough Mr. Pick used part of his fortune to carve a nuclear bomb shelter into one of the nearby hillsides, now closed to the public. The property was sold again in 1969 and during the next several years passed between several owners. The county finally bought the land in a measure to double the size of Sanborn-Skyline County Park. Costs associated with renovating the former Welch-Hurst summer house was estimated at half-a-million dollars, too much for county coffers, and the house was scheduled for demolition. As destruction seemed imminent, the volunteers of the Santa Clara Valley hostelling club stepped forward in 1979 and set forth with a box of hand tools and $460 in the bank to finance their reconstruction project. Many were doubtful the project would last even several months...years later with countless hours of volunteer time and effort Sanborn Park Hostel can boast over 100,000 overnights representing 90 countries! Twenty-two percent of the overnights represent non US visitors. Sanborn Park Hostel is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Amenities include a fully functioning kitchen with three refrigerators, four stoves and cooking utensils. A food storage area is also included. The living room includes a fireplace, couches and a library. The vaulted ceiling is supported by redwood beams which stretch overhead. The original polished madrone branch staircase (shown) wraps from the floor of the living room to the upper bedroom. Six bedrooms, each with bathroom accessibility, are available for hostlers.

The 3600 acres (1460 hectares) of park land surrounding Sanborn Park Hostel is alive with natural history and activities. Just minutes from the hostel you can see: over 30 feet (10 m) of vertical ground movement which occurred during the great 1906 earthquake on the San Andreas Fault; deer grazing in an open field at dusk ; the original inhabitants of the area left their mark in the rocks around the hostel scooped mortars where acorns were ground to be prepared into a food staple. Less than a miles trot is the Youth Science Institute which offers exhibits and displays of animals living in the park. A pleasant half hour walk from the hostel is the SavannahChanelle Vineyards which grows award winning Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and Chardonnay. A small fee is required for tasting. Sanborn-Skyline County Park also offers over 30 walk-in campsites and miles of hiking trails. The trails zig-zag through the redwoods and link to greater trail networks of the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Skyline to the Sea Trail. The hostel is a good starting point for hiking both, however the 3 day Skyline to the Sea Trail is a good challenge for those wishing a short adventure. The trail covers 35 miles (56.35 km) through an ancient redwood forest of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The hike includes chaparral slopes, rocky outcrops, vistas and passes the 65 foot (20 m) Berry Creek Falls before continuing at Waddell Beach. Within the park one can hike to or drive 20 minutes to Summit Rock where views of 40 miles (64 km) can be seen on a clear day, Silicon Valley lies outstretched before you as does the southern quarter of the San Francisco Bay. In addition to its own size, Sanborn County Park borders the 3600 acre (1460 hectare) Castle Rock State Park where shallow caves and overhangs offer excellent bouldering and rock climbing opportunities. Castle Rock also boasts a 80 foot (24 m) seasonal waterfall which is a mile from the park entrance. Less than forty-five minutes, though worlds away from the tranquility of the redwoods, is Silicon Valley with attractions such as the famous:

• Winchester Mystery House
• Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
• Villa Montalvo
• Hakone Japanese Gardens Some scenes from Memoirs of a Geisha were filmed here
• Tech Museum of Innovation & IMAX Theater
• San Jose Museum of Art
• San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

Check out MetroActive for great Arts and Entertainment information in Silicon Valley.