Located in Cupertino, Rancho San Antonio is a 3,988-acre open space preserve and a 165-acre county park. The land has been owned by 4 families over the last 200 years. The Grant Brothers owned Deer Hollow Farm, located in Rancho San Antonio, and the surrounding area for 77 years until they sold it in 1937, when the land was almost lost and turned into a shopping mall. However, local residents and environmental groups fought back, allowing for the land to be preserved. Today, Rancho San Antonio and Deer Hollow Farm receive nearly 700,000 visitors annually.
Deer Hollow Farm in particular is run by the City of Mountain View Parks and Recreation Department but also relies on volunteers to run their activities. Volunteer Winchell Lee has been helping out at Deer Hollow Farm for 20 years. She prevents visitors from feeding the farm animals or trying to bypass fences that cage off the animals. Before she started volunteering at Deer Hollow Farm, she was a teacher at Mount Pleasant Elementary School in San Jose, and she used to bring her students to Rancho San Antonio and Deer Hollow for field trips.
After Lee retired, she wanted to continue working with children, which compelled her to volunteer at the farm. She now enjoys connecting with visitors about the animals, for example, sharing fun facts about the different animals’ history, behavior and personalities. Recently, she informed visitors that a herd of 4-day-old baby Nubian goats was larger than a herd of 1-week-old Nigerian Dwarf goats because they were a larger breed.
Among Deer Hollow Farm’s various visitors are Ling, who did not provide her last name, and her group of friends she frequents the park with. This group enjoys bringing their children to Deer Hollow Farm to teach them more about the animals, and especially enjoys attending fresh chicken egg sales every Sunday at the farm.
“The eggs are always so pretty — they come in blue, green and yellow,” Ling said. “Because they have hens, there are fresh eggs at the stand every week. When you bring these fresh eggs and show your kids, they are excited, like, ‘Oh my God, they’re so colorful.’”
The sale of the food, eggs and seasonal orchard produce from Deer Hollow is not the only thing they offer. Deer Hollow Farm is typically open five and a half days per week for all visitors, but occasionally offers special opportunities for young children and adults alike to connect with the park. The farm hosts two Spring Farm Tours in April, where families meet with the farm’s animals up close and Spooky Times, a Halloween event in which the farm is decorated to match the theme. During these tours, children can enter animal pens to observe the animals. One of such activity allows students to shear sheep. Lee additionally mentions the seven-week youth summer camps, offering children the opportunity to take swim lessons, play music and sports and much more.
“It’s fun, every day of the week they have a different animal that they’re taking care of,” Lee said “It’s an easy job, and I walk around, get my exercise. Many times the parents are on their phones, not paying attention. I think the parents appreciate the fact that [their children] come out here.”
Rancho San Antonio County Park is a popular location for hikers, bikers and runners, a group that includes Ling, as well as junior Suhani Pahuja, who fell in love with Rancho San Antonio after her father, a marathon runner, introduced it to her. He serves as an inspiration for Pahuja’s own passion for running as an athlete on both the MVHS cross-country and track and field teams.
“I grew up running with my dad, and it’s really nice because when I used to run with him, I’d be annoyed that he’d always beat me,” Pahuja said. “Now the tables have turned. In the relationship I have with my dad, a large part of that is us running together. I feel like I’m a lot closer to my dad than with some of my friends.”
Pahuja continues to run frequently at Rancho and visits around once a week. The nature and scenery of the park “speaks to her” and is the reason why she returns so frequently. Aside from building her relationship with her father, she enjoys running in the park because of its peaceful environment.
“I feel like — not just for me, but for my other friends who also run — it can give us a break from school and other things in day-to-day life,” Pahuja said. “I think running at places like Rancho, where there’s a lot of greenery and open nature, is a lot more soothing and relaxing. It’s a lot more rewarding than just running in the neighborhood or on a track.”
