Healthy Trails: Santa Teresa County Park

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Santa Teresa County Park, in south San Jose, to tackle my third strenuous Healthy Trails hike.

The plan was to complete the 3.5-mile loop described in the booklet, starting from the Pueblo Day Use Area and following the Hidden Springs, Coyote Peak, Rocky Ridge, and Mine Trails. Unfortunately, while I was there, the Rocky Ridge Trail was closed due to "hazardous conditions" at the bottom of the trail, so I had to improvise.

I started out from the Hidden Springs trailhead around 10:40 AM and began the ascent to Coyote Peak (elev. 1,155 feet). It was pleasant 600-foot climb over a 1-mile stretch. The sound of flowing water accompanied me during the first quarter-mile. Just before reaching the Ridge Trail junction, I came across the source of the spring.

South San Jose came into view past the next junction.

Once I reached the peak, I was struck by a number of things. First was the layer of smog that hovered over the city...

It pretty much obscured the view of Mt. Hamilton and Lick Observatory. Second was the unsightly transmission tower and tank that adorned the peak...

Third was the beautiful, green rolling hills of Coyote Valley...

Last was the prominence of power lines. They were everywhere...

From Coyote Peak, I made a steep descent down Boundary Trail. This turned into Coyote Peak Trail, which quickly became Ohlone Trail, skirting the Santa Teresa Golf Course.

Once I crossed Bernal Road, I made a right onto Mine Trail and then a quick left onto the new Norred Trail, which passed Norred Ranch...

If I had turned back at this point, the journey to Bernal Road would have been an easy one, instead, I chose to return by way of the steep Joice and Bernal Hill Trails. This brought me past a small lot that offered free parking (as opposed to the $6 I paid to park at the day use area) and the Mine Trail.

This trail looped in a counterclockwise fashion around Trench Hill and returned me to the car.

In all, it was a 7-mile loop. While it was a decent hike overall, with some nice views, I was rather put off by the number of power lines and transmission towers I encountered...

I understand the park puts on quite a wildflower show in the spring, so I might have to make a return trip in the coming months. But beyond that, Santa Teresa doesn't offer the seclusion or escape from civilization I seek and can easily find at other nearby parks.

You can see a few more photos from the hike on Flickr.

You can read about other experiences at Santa Teresa County Park on Yelp and Bay Area Hiker.