Health Warnings for County Recreational Waters

Prepare for your park visit by knowing about bacteria warnings in county recreational waters, provided San Mateo County Environmental Health.

New Proposed Building Permit & Inspection Fee Schedule

The County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors will open a public hearing on December 8, 2020 to consider adopting the Planning and Building Department’s proposed Building Permit and Inspection Fee Schedule effective January 15, 2021.

Fire Recovery & Rebuilding

Learn about our streamlined rebuilding process designed to assist those who have lost their homes or suffered property damage due to the CZU Lightning Complex fires.

Additional Outdoor Businesses Allowed

The County has expanded the temporary suspension of Use Permit, Parking and other zoning development standards to allow restaurants and other specified businesses to conduct business outdoors.

New Local Energy Code Requirements Effective September 10, 2020

New Energy Requirements effective September 10, 2020 for new construction: Requirements include all-electric building, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and photovoltaic solar requirements.

Reseeding a Natural Preserve with Native Grass

Our task was to level and install seed beds for the Green Grass Project at Edgewood Farms —an amazing project spearheaded by the Friends of Edgewood group, which has been helping steward the park and its incredible diversity of plant life for over 25 years.

San Bruno Mountain Elfin Monitoring

Every other year the Natural Resource Management team does a survey of San Bruno Elfin, an endangered species on San Bruno Mountain. Their larva, or caterpillars, feed an attractive native succulent that grows on rocky outcrops.

Free OuterSpatial App Helps Navigate Park Trails, Facilities

San Mateo County Parks is happy to announce that our parks and trails are now featured on the free OuterSpatial app.

Quarry Park Master Plan Update

Learn what board presentations and public workshops are planned for the Draft Quarry Park Master Plan. Also, participate in the pump track design.

"Oh No! I Think It's Dead, It Has No Tail!"

It is quite common to mistake a lizard that has just lost its tail for dead! While unfortunately the lizard is now tail-less, it isn't dying, far from it actually. It is very much still alive. Lizards utilize caudal autotomy (tail dropping) as a survival strategy for predatory response! When being chased or spotted by a predator a lizard may drop his or her tail and speed away while the piece of tail continues to wriggle and squirm, mimicking another lizard. If a lizard is bit by a venomous snake it may drop its tail as well, to ensure that the toxin does not reach the rest of the lizard’s body. In some cases, the tail will even grow back, however the regenerated tail does have less function.

Meet the Pacific Purple Sea Urchin

As a Natural Resource Management Intern I visit many of the parks to analyze different habitats and support vegetation management activities.

Stalking the California Golden Violet

A few feet farther up the slope I saw the telltale yellow flowers, looking like a garden “pansy,” peaking out of the mass of green. It was California Golden Violet, Viola pedunculata