Photograph by R. W. Bradford
Walden West youth counselors (from left) Olivia Jensen, 17, Darren Steffens, 17, and Chris Jurair, 15, learn a new card game in front of the Sanborn Park Hostel.
By Tim Persyn
Seven minutes by car from downtown Saratoga lies a place where the redwood trees point to a perfect blue sky, where the sounds of nature dominate and where travelers from all over the world gather to rest.
The Sanborn Park Hostel, a two-story historic lodge, is a site where individuals, families and groups of all ages can find inexpensive lodging in the heart of a redwood forest.
Accommodations are basic. Typical rooms have four or six beds and a bathroom. Guests at the hostel, which has a maximum occupancy of 39, must bring their own groceries, but they have the use of a kitchen.
The hostel is officially open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Registration for rooms takes place from 5 p.m until 10:30 p.m., with lights-out at 11 p.m. Lodgers usually leave by 9 a.m. the following morning.
Groups must make reservations, but individuals can walk in. Lodgers can stay a maximum of three consecutive days.
The hostel is a member of Hosteling International-American Youth Hostel (HI-AYH), a nonprofit organization founded in 1934. Rates for a night are $8.50 for those who are members of the organization and $10.50 for nonmembers. Memberships can be obtained at the hostel.
In one particular week this summer, lodgers included people in their 20s and 30s from around the world. Travelers learn about the hostel through a guide published by HI-AYH.
Recent guests included Gary, a South African in the United States on business. To arrive at the hostel, nestled in the hills above Saratoga, he walked from the CalTrain station in Sunnyvale, a jaunt of 13 miles.
"It's absolutely fantastic," he said of the hostel, as a creek babbled in the background. "It's one of the nicest places I've stayed in. At this hostel you feel like a part of the furniture, like a part of the family."
Other lodgers at the time included Stephen, a San Francisco resident who traveled to the hostel to do some hiking.
"For the price, you really can't beat it," he said.
The Sanborn building has about as much history as all the people who pass through it. Constructed in 1908 by a local judge, it is an example of the "arts and crafts" period of architecture, and resembles a large, sturdy cabin. The structure includes an interesting staircase, with steps made of logs and a bannister made of branches.
The building is leased by the County of Santa Clara to the Santa Clara Valley Club of American Youth Hostels, a nonprofit organization that maintains and operates the hostel.
Art and Sylvia Carroll, a retired couple, volunteer their time to manage the hostel. They live in downtown San Jose but spend a lot of time maintaining the lodge. The hostel is also overseen by "house parents," who are employees of the Santa Clara Valley club.
"It's a lot of work," said Sylvia, whose volunteer duties include carpentry and gardening. Her husband recently fixed the kitchen stove.
Sylvia said the advantages of managing the hostel include the opportunity to talk to people from all over the world. She also enjoys seeing families have a good time.
As she sat beside a garden outside the building where deer often come to nibble on branches, Sylvia hinted at one of the greatest attractions of the hostel.
Looking up, she asked, "Is the sky this blue in Santa Clara Valley?"
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, July 31, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved