If you could afford to live like a high-tech millionaire, you’d have lots of company in Los Gatos. It’s a nice place to visit regardless, and 270-acre St. Joseph’s Hill Open Space Preserve above the attractive town center is a destination well worth the huffer-puffer hike from Novitiate Park at the end of Jones Road.
Both the Los Gatos Creek and Jones/Flume trails lead to Lexington Reservoir, where you and Fido can soak your paws during a well deserved break. On the way down, make a detour and allow yourself to be waylaid at Testarossa , the Bay Area’s oldest continuously operating winery, founded by Jesuit fathers and brothers in 1888. The tasting room, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, includes a deli where you can pick up some cheese and crackers to enjoy with your wine on the dog-friendly patio out back. A bit of trivia to digest along with your Brosseau Vineyard Pinot Noir and aged cheddar: Los Gatos, which means “the cats” in Spanish, takes its name from the mountain lions that even today are occasionally glimpsed prowling in the surrounding hills.
