LA HONDA — For David Crane and many others, the La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve has been a mountain biker's dream — thousands of acres of achingly beautiful coastal vistas, steep climbs and winding wooded groves.

It appears that bicyclists will get to enjoy all of these views over their handlebars someday because of an attitude reversal on the part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which is about to decide what kinds of public access would work in the 5,759-acre preserve.

The Open Space District will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. tonight to take public comments for the third time this year and then vote on a preferred option for recreational uses of future trails at La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve.

The preserve, which lies north of the town of La Honda and west of Skyline Boulevard, has been mostly closed to hikers ever since the district purchased it and has mostly been used to graze cattle. Nearby Driscoll Ranch sold much of today's La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve to the district in 2006, but retained the right to keep its livestock operation there.

At the time of the purchase, district officials said it had no plans to open the land to mountain bikers, who already have access to nearby Russian Ridge and Corte Madera Open Space Preserves.

But the bikers pushed back with a powerful local campaign. They pointed out that many of the existing ranch roads on the property, although in poor

"The existing trails are essentially dirt roads, and they would be more fun to bike than hike," asserts La Honda resident David Crane, who enjoys biking with his three children on neighboring preserves at least once a week. He and many other local parents support a bike trailhead for kids behind La Honda Elementary School, which has a backyard view of the preserve.

"It would be an asset to the town of La Honda, which doesn't really have that many activities for kids," he added.

The district board of directors will consider two options at the meeting. Both would create 13 new trails totaling about 30 miles. All trails would be open to hikers, equestrians and picnickers.

The only difference is that in the first option, bikers would have access to 4.3 out of 30 miles. In the second option, bikers would be able to access 9.4 miles of trail, taking them nearly from one end of the preserve to the other.

Crane said both options are more grudging than generous when it comes to mountain bikers, especially given the significant local push for more access. Many equestrians who were initially concerned about sharing the road with bicycles have endorsed the second option, and the board of directors should too, he said.

"The fact that option one is still on the table makes me concerned that they may still go with option one. The board has not exactly embraced bicycle access," said Crane.

Whichever plan moves forward, nature lovers will have to wait at least five years before the La Honda Creek Preserve will open to the public. The master plan is not yet completed and the district still needs to conduct an environmental review to help property managers protect threatened species on site, such as the California red-legged frog.

Realistically speaking, the entire network of trails probably won't be finished for another 30 years, according to Leigh Ann Maze, a spokeswoman for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

"Balancing the preservation of the natural environment with a cattle operation, and allowing recreational users on the land is a hard thing to do, and that's what this plan tries to do," she said.

Some equestrians are still a little leery of sharing the road with mountain bikers.

"Personally, I think it would be nice for them (the bikers) to have access, too. But to share the trail gets a little difficult. If they are not being respectful it could scare the horses," said Nancy Turner, a coastside resident and equestrian who often rides on roads and trails near La Honda. "I guess if you designated different trails it would make more sense."

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board will meet at 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos. Details are online at www.openspace.org.

Reach Julia Scott at 650-348-4340.