The Outdoors Parent

It’s meant to be beautiful this week with temperatures into the 70s and 80s, so here are a few ideas to get the kids outdoors:

Friday 24th February

Visit the Bravo Ranch with Stroller Hikes.

Details: Friday, Feb 24 at 10:30 AM: Day at the Ranch (Soquel) – Join Liza, Sasha, and Nico for a day at her family’s private ranch in  Soquel.  We’ll visit all of the animals – pigs, chickens, rabbits  (including new babies); check out the garden and orchard, and visit the  creek if it’s not too cold.  This won’t be a trail-following hike, but  kids are bound to get a lot of walking in, checking out everything at  the ranch.  This is the famous site of our Stroller Hikes Annual Family  Camping Trip (July 20th to 22nd this year).  Bring a carrier/pack for  non-walkers.  Directions: From Silicon Valley, take Highway 17 South  towards Santa Cruz.  Exit right on CA-35 Summit Road.  Veer right  following Summit Road over Highway 17.  Go 3.8 miles.  Turn right at San Jose Soquel Road (just past Summit Store).  Go 7.8 miles. The entrance  to ranch will be on your left hand side directly across from Casalegno  General Store. Look for the big yellow mail box, 3490 San Jose Soquel  Road (watch out – Mapquest and Google Maps will sometimes send you on a  wild ride!). Don’t try to make the left turn. The driveway is narrower  than it looks.Pull into the parking area for Casalegno & then cross  over Summit Road & go down the driveway.  The property is gated, so  see the sign on your left before the gate for the code to get in.  The  gate will close behind you automatically.  You can also access this  easily coming from Santa Cruz – just drive to downtown Soquel and head  towards the mountains on San Jose Soquel Road – you’ll see the Casalegno General Store on the left and the yellow mailbox on your right

This is a free event, but register with Stroller Hikes so they know to expect your family: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/StrollerHikes/surveys?id=13124526

Friday and the Weekend

This week there are 2 historic sailboats moored at the Port of Redwood City: The brig Lady Washington and topsail ketch Hawaiian Chieftain. They have walk-on tours this Friday afternoon. $3 donation per person. And all sorts of other exciting activities over the weekend. See here for details.

Saturday 25th February

Don Edwards S F Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Family Bird Walk 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Visitor Center, Fremont Let family walks become a shared time of nature learning. We’ll begin by helping kids create their personal bird watching field guides, and then head out onto the trails to find those birds. A limited number of binoculars are available to borrow. Recommended for children ages 5-10. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Call 510-792-0222 ext. 363.

And I would suggest this is a perfect weekend for a beach visit…..

Advance Notice – These events fill up fast:

Hidden Villa has a nice looking ‘toddlers on the farm’ class in March (three friday afternoons) for toddlers aged 1.5-3.5.  To reserve a spot, see here.

Elkus Farm has a couple of open days coming up – March 14th, 15th and 17th. The 16th is already closed for further reservations. If you’re interested, see here.

Tiny Treks is now registering for its summer programs. Comes highly recommended!