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The Spur Trail is a paved walking
trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
in
San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Da ...
, south of San Francisco. It is located in
Millbrae Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
on Spur Property parkland. The pathway consists of two disjointed sections; one is located to the west of Taylor Middle School and the other is located north of
Mills High School Mills High School is a public high school in Millbrae, California, one of seven in the San Mateo Union High School District. Mills was established in 1958. Mills High School has been named a California Distinguished School three times (1988, 199 ...
.Route descriptions are based on Google Earth images. The trail and its associated park is an important recreational opportunity for local residents.


History

The Spur Property originally set aside for the Junipero Serra Boulevard expansion project. Local opposition to this plan was intense, since the new freeway would have split Millbrae in half. Accordingly, the project was shelved and the Spur Property remained open land. In 1975, most of the Spur Property was rezoned as open space, closing the land to developers. However, some parts of the property, such as the plot located on the southwest corner of the El Camino Real and Millbrae Avenue intersection, was developed into the Hong Kong Flower Lounge in the 1980s. The rest of the land remained a park, but in early 2004, as Millbrae was bedecked by budget shortfalls, the city proposed to sell parkland in order to resolve its financial issues. Like the highway plan, there was fierce opposition to this action.


Description


Northern section

The northern segment of the trail has a north–south orientation. The trail begins on Richmond Drive on the northwest corner of Taylor Middle School. It goes uphill slightly as it heads southeast into a grove of oak and
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
trees. From then on, the linear trail goes into an open field and runs just to the west of Taylor Middle School's H-wing classrooms. Heading into another patch of eucalyptus trees, the trail crosses two streets as it skirts the southwest corner of Taylor Middle School. South of the middle school, the twisty trail ascends and descends through a grassy field until it ends on Hillcrest Boulevard.


Southern section

Located about half a mile (800 m) south of the northern segment, the southern part of the Spur trail has an east–west orientation. It begins on South Ashton Drive close to where
Millbrae Creek Millbrae is a city located in northern San Mateo County, California, United States. To its northeast is San Francisco International Airport, San Bruno is on its northwest, and Burlingame on its southeast. It is bordered by San Andreas Lake to ...
dives underground. The trail heads east through a grove filled with different types of trees, ranging from oak and
Monterey Pine ''Pinus radiata'' (syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the fam ...
to the west to mostly eucalyptus to the east. The trail roughly parallels Millbrae Creek for a tiny distance where the creek re-emerges from the ground but then disappears underground under the path. As the trail twists and turns through the Spur property parkland, it parallels Millbrae Avenue and skirts the northern friges of Mills High School's running track/football and baseball fields. The trail turns by several tennis courts and a
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...
before terminating on the corner of Millbrae Avenue and Magnolia Drive about two blocks away from the
Millbrae Station Millbrae station is an intermodal transit station serving Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain, located in Millbrae, California. The station is the terminal station for BART on the San Francisco Peninsula, served by two lines: The before ...
.


References

{{reflist


External links


Google Map of the trail
Protected areas of San Mateo County, California Hiking trails in California Trails in the San Francisco Bay Area Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in California Millbrae, California