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Scouting Santa Teresa County Park
This has to be the most-documented local park I’ve never been to. It’s in south San Jose about a mile beyond the terminus of the Santa Teresa light-rail line. It has one large hill and respectable wildflower action in the spring. It also has all these sites devoted to it:
- Santa Clara County Parks page.
- Friends of Santa Teresa County Park.
- A Geocities site created by one of the aforementioned Friends.
- Jane Huber’s Bay Area Hiker page.
- A Flickr photo album created by one of the lead developers of WordPress.
- A Yelp page with four reviews.
- An ePinions page with one review.
And, of course, there’s a Google Maps page:
I’m thinking of heading down there this weekend seeking grist for a future column. Suggestions on must-see trails are welcome.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I’m a sucker for grand views, so I’d say Coyote Peak is a must-see. You can see most of the county from the top.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
cool, my Yelp review is there! Here it is again..I recommend all that I wrote:
We went hiking Easter Sun 4/8/07 here. It’s a small park but they have over 14 miles of unpaved trails for equestrian, hiking & bicycle use.
The have a self-paying machine that collects the day-use fee of $5, as of May 1, 2007 it’ll go up to $6. Bring dollar bills or coins.
They have Separate men & women bathrooms (flushed toilets-women’s 2 stalls w/ tp & seat covers, 2 sinks, No Soap). Only bathrooms in the park are in the Pueblo Group Picnic Area. Covered picnic tables so very popular with families.
We did the Hidden Springs to Ridge trail to Coyote Peak. Coyote Peak is the highest peak at the park at 1,155 and on a nice clear day you have great views of Mt. Hamilton; Mt Umunhum; Almaden & Santa Clara Valleys.
We also did the Fortini Mine to Stile Ranch trail. Stile Ranch is known for their wildflowers-it was pretty good, but this yr is not the best for wildflowers.
We also did an Unmarked trail not on the map called Nature Trail. There is a small waterfall there. It’s not running well this yr, but a regular said Feb. is a good time to see it.
Vista Loop-is not worth going. Views are ok on the side not the top. At the top only PG&E Power Line tower.
Be afraid of ticks here. This park is loaded with them. Many hiking trails are Unmarked so can be very confusing. Good luck.
March 27th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Tom, if you can can you check out Fortini Mine to Stile Ranch Trail? When we went in April ‘07 we didn’t have the best wildflowers. This yr should be good!