Office holiday closure

Our office will be closed December 23-January 3. Open space preserves remain open!

A small checkered butterfly sits in a field of bright yellow goldfield wildflowers

Butterfly Pass

Get your 2025 pass!

Every Visit Matters

You can help protect the rare and endangered plants and animals every time you visit Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve. Due to the extremely sensitive habitat found at this preserve, all visitors are required to have a Butterfly Pass to enter the preserve’s Habitat Protection Area along the designated trails.

Get a Butterfly Pass

By signing up for a Butterfly Pass, you agree to the Open Space Authority’s preserve guidelines for the Habitat Protection Area. 

A small butterfly with black, orange, yellow and white checkered spots sits with its wings spread open on a gray rock covered with orange lichen
A medium-sized butterfly with black, orange, yellow and white checkered spots, sits on a white and yellow wildflower with its wings spread
The Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis) is a medium-sized butterfly with black, orange, yellow and white checkered spots that give it its name.

FAQ

Related Articles

A child wearing pink with a blue hat and her father in gray behind her bend down to look at orange and yellow wildflowers on a dirt trail. Behind them are green hills and other people on the trail

A visitor's guide to Máyyan 'Ooyákma - Coyote Ridge

Whether you're spending a wonderful day with your loved ones or enjoying some quality time alone with nature, the Open Space Authority is excited for visitors to experience the beauty of Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve. Read the full article.

A small butterfly with black, orange, yellow and white checkered spots sits with its wings spread open on a gray rock covered with orange lichen

Protecting the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly

Meet the Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis), a federally threatened species that is the focus of ongoing research at Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve. Read the full article.

A herd of 8 brown tule elk stand on a green hillside staring at the camera. Behind them and out of focus is the white Lick Observatory on top of a far-away hill.

Wildlife of the Ridge

Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve is home to a diverse array of wildlife specialized to thrive in this unique landscape, many of which are endemic, or found nowhere else. So, which animals call this landscape home? Read the full article.

Gray rocks among green grass and orange California poppies on a hillside

Máyyan ‘Ooyákma’s Rare Serpentine Soils: An Enchanting Find in the Bay Area

Many plants, as well as the animals that depend on them, find it extremely challenging to thrive on serpentine soils. But there’s one place in the Bay Area where rare species of plants and wildlife thrive amongst undisturbed serpentine grasslands. Read the full article.