​Windy​ Hill is a Northeast-facing flying site, that is periodically flyable from late Fall, to early Spring, on days where there is inland high pressure, offshore flow, and little to no marine layer.  Windy Hill can be a surprisingly challenging and technical place to fly, and there are a number of guidelines that need to be followed when flying there:

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Regulations

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• Before flying, pilots must sign-in on the sheet located in the sign-in box, which is at the foot of the Anniversary Trail, beside the trail sign at the upper parking lot.

• Windy Hill Open Space Preserve hours are from sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. The lower parking lot is gated, and locks when the preserve closes.  Make sure your car doesn't get locked in there.

• Flying is prohibited on Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day, due to historically heavy park usage on these days.

• When driving up to launch, Route 84 must be taken, rather than Old La Honda Road, in order to minimize residential traffic.  Old La Honda Road is a one-lane road for part of the way, and has heavy bike traffic, particularly on weekends.

• There can be no more than 10 gliders present in the preserve at any time, and no more than 5 at launch (HG + PG).

• As of mid-2016, the MROSD has installed 2 gates through the launch area, to mitigate erosion on a bootleg trail. Pilots are allowed to temporarily take down the gates (clipped on with a carabiner) while launching. After the last pilot has launched, the gate must be put back up. Pilots must return to launch after flying to replace the gate.  Better yet, if any hikers, observers, or RC pilots are present, kindly ask them to replace the gate on your behalf after launching, to save yourself a trip back up to launch.

• There is a 4000ft ceiling above Windy Hill from SFO's Class B airspace. The airspace limit rises to 6000ft south of Alpine Road. Ensure you look at a VFR map before flying, to familiarize yourself with the airspace.​​

• After launching, and once some altitude has been gained from ridge lift near launch, fly away from the launch area. Gliders can be distracting to traffic along Skyline Blvd.

• Do not fly low over the Sequoias seniors' residence (immediately South of the LZ), Portola Road, or over any of the houses on the East side of the road. Try to set up your landing approach on the West side of the LZ. This is a good idea anyway, because the tree line to the West of the LZ, or the LZ itself, sometimes release thermals, and low saves are possible.
   

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Site Guide

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• Important: The glide from launch to the LZ is shallow (6:1), and there is often a strong headwind up at launch.  Lower-end PGs (EN-A or low EN-B), in particular, and sometimes even higher end wings may have trouble safely reaching the LZ in certain conditions, especially if there is any sink out in front!  There are several PG-friendly bail-outs along the Spring Ridge trail that can be used in an emergency.  If you don't think you are going to make the LZ, bail to the trail early, before the final committing glide over the canyon and winery, where there are no bailouts.  Be mindful of potential rotor from the trees to the South of the big canyon if the wind is strong, and try to land close to the trail away from hikers if you need to bail out, in order to minimize trampling of grasses and shrubs.  For this reason, pilots must demonstrate that they have sound judgement, and the necessary technical skills to be able to emergency land safely, without injuring themselves, bystanders, or damaging foliage.  If you are not confident in your ability to do this, please do not fly at Windy Hill, for your own safety, and in the interest of preserving the site.

• Windy Hill is deserving of its name.  The launch area sits in both a large and medium scale venturi.  If you look on a topographic map, you will notice that the launch area is located at a saddle point or local low point in the coast range, hence the wind is often stronger there than it is further out in front.  Furthermore, ridge-top compression is quite pronounced at Windy Hill.  While conditions at launch are often friendly, there are other times where it can be blown out, even if there is light wind most of the way up the trail.  It is often turbulent when the wind is strong, and there will not necessarily be abundant ridge lift, particularly if the wind is more Northerly.

• The LZ is surrounded by high trees on 3 sides, and can be thermic in late Summer and Fall, which can result in challenging landing conditions for HGs, in particular.  There is also a fence and a winery on the North side of the LZ (the one side of the LZ that is not lined by high trees).  HGs must carefully set up their approaches, and be prepared to overshoot their desired landing spot if the LZ is thermic, and there is little to no headwind.  The prevailing wind in the LZ is usually from the North; setting up a downwind-base-final-approach is recommended.  If you are not confident in your ability to land in a confined LZ, please do not fly at Windy Hill, for your own safety, and in the interest of preserving the site.

• Windy Hill is open to equestrians, and there are horse stables in close proximity to the LZ. Be mindful of this, when flying low, or coming in to land.

• Windy Hill is in close proximity to 3 small airports (Palo Alto, San Carlos, and Half Moon Bay), several hospitals with helipads, and it is also very close to the Woodside VOR. There is a significant amount of general aviation traffic in the area. Although there is a glider symbol on the map, GA pilots are unlikely to know that gliders are in the air.  Keep your eyes on the sky!

• Windy Hill is a great place to hike and fly. The most direct route to launch is via the Betsy Crowder, Spring Ridge, and Anniversary Trails.

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Useful Information

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Here is a VFR map of the Windy Hill area, obtained from http://www.vfrmap.com: