Kate Bradshaw

_{Two cyclists on mountain bikes ride on a trail in Waterdog Park in Belmont on Dec. 10, 2021. Photo by Magali Gauthier.}

How a spat over open space access in Belmont could shape preservation on the Peninsula

By Kate Bradshaw

December 30, 2021

There’s a neighborhood on the Peninsula where the nature access is almost too good to be true. On one side of Hallmark Drive in the Belmont hills is one of the best cross-country running courses in California, the Crystal Springs Cross Country Course, and on the other is Waterdog Lake, a publicly accessible open space that offers trails for dog walking, stroller-friendly hiking and single-track mountain biking.

Access to both is now under scrutiny. Over the past year and a half, a small group of people has been lobbying hard to restrict who can use these open spaces, triggering a battle between the group members, who describe themselves as environmental advocates, on one side and mountain bikers and runners on the other.

The environmentalists’ persistence has led the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which owns the Crystal Springs land and has for decades offered permits to the San Mateo County Community College District to manage local schools’ cross-country events held there, recently gave a warning to the parties involved to resolve the conflict by the end of the year or face losing the permit to hold races. In Belmont, the group’s work has also triggered a new analysis that could reshape who can access recreation at Waterdog, a mecca for mountain bikers because of its terrain and proximity to where people live and work.  

These political processes are unfolding during a time of unparalleled popularity for parks and open spaces, and they raise questions about how Peninsula communities should manage them: They must weigh the recreational and health benefits these spaces provide against the concerns of neighbors and the need to protect the plants and animals that live in them. 

Waterdog offers scenic vistas of the Bay and San Mateo Bridge, trails to challenge hardy hikers, runners and mountain bikers alike, and inclusive access for people pushing strollers or strolling with pups. The Crystal Springs course provides high school athletes from around the state the opportunity to compete on a long-standing world-class course overlooking some of the Peninsula’s most scenic geography. Plus, it’s open to the public the rest of the time. 

Upon initially visiting Waterdog, tucked into a serene canyon with a small manmade lake, the accessibility was on display as families of mountain bikers zipped past couples on slow strolls. That busy Saturday afternoon, I spent more time during the run with my dog waiting on the side of narrow trails for mountain bikers to pass than expected. 

But by the end of the run, any annoyance turned to curiosity over how this place came to be, where nature lovers can congregate alongside cyclists of all ages. Little did I know that my curiosity would take me right into the middle of a battle brewing in Belmont over not just the future of mountain biking at Waterdog, but a larger debate unfolding on the Peninsula over what the idea of inclusion in the outdoors means to different people.

Full story here.