This is my favorite spot to stop for lunch on the coyote Creek trail. It has a great covered…read moreoutdoor area for eating. It's in deep shade, so it remains cool even in hot weather. It has five picnic tables under the shelter and all are in shade. It has a garbage can which is almost always not full, so it is obviously maintained regularly. It has nice water fountains for both humans and pets. The restrooms are awesome and clean! I would give this park five stars, but the lake is closed until 2032. Otherwise, it's still my favorite spot at the end of Coyote Creek trail.

Ok so supposedly it cost six dollars to get in to the parking lot. Um... the parking lot I went…read moreinto had nowhere to pay, none, zip,zippo, nadda "not that I'm complaining lol!! Looks like they are doing seismic retrofitting stuff so we couldn't walk over this cool bridge that was over the stream, lots of chain link fence and construction going on... sad face. Wifey and I were able to sit on a bench near the stream "which honestly was quite beautiful if you didn't look to far up" We sat there for about 2 hours watching the Black Phoebe's fly around catching bugs. Beyond that there doesn't seem to be much else going on in this parking lot site. There is another entrance, haven't been there as of yet, maybe that entrance will be better.

Beautiful views and great trials and wonderful running water with alot of greenery good parkingread more

Is it beautiful? Well, Chris Martin would like it because it was all yellow…read more There's quite a few places to start (Stonegate Park, Hellyer Park, Metcalf parking lot), but Google "Coyote Creek Visitor Center at Anderson Lake" if you want to start at the trail's most southern point. If you want photos of that intelligent but impish silver fox, Google "Coyote Creek Visitor Center at Anderson Cooper" My experience that follows is based on starting from the south, but check my photos for updates. The Visitor Center has a huge parking lot (virtually empty at 2pm a hot September Saturday) that will leave everything it touches with a fine white dust. Your shoes and bike, and subsequently your floor mats, will look like they partied with John Belushi. We made the mistake of riding out of the lot toward the creek, following a rocky dirt road for over half a mile. (See Photo). Until we intercepted the actual trail, I was angrily writing the Yelp review in my head in the voice of Inigo Montoya: "Paved? I do not think that word means what you think it means." (To avoid this, begin the trail on Eagle View Drive that borders the parking lot opposite the creek.) With the honey-colored grass dotted with murky green oaks, standing in stunning contrast to the gold, the landscape reminded me of Napa Valley, but instead of wine, dog poop. I'm not saying there was a lot of dog poop, but there's more poop than shade. The smooth, paved two-way trail is 22.1 miles long and has long stretches of seemingly straight paths but it's never static, thanks to a few sharp turns, blind curves, interruptions for utility roads, and various sites. In the 8.4 miles we rode north from the Visitor Center toward San Jose to Coyote Ranch, we would sometimes veer west where you'd feel like you're in the country. With the rolling green hills in the background, and intermittent low hanging trees among the super dry patches of grass, the landscape reminded my wife of Southern Oregon, but instead of award-winning breweries: dog poop. I'm not saying there was a lot of dog poop, but there were more poop to mistake for a family of motionless brown beetles than actual families. But for every turn toward the hills, there was a turn back east toward the 101 to remind you that you're in a city (the 17th most expensive housing market in the US, to be exact) - the 101 is sometimes 4000 feet in the distance, sometimes within 500 feet, and even under it. One shady underpass made for a secret and sheltered shallow spot for kids to swim. Well, at least it WAS secret. Yes, along the way, you'll see the 63-mile long Coyote Creek, a river that parallel a fault, running from Diablo Mtns east of Morgan Hill to Anderson Lake through Coyote Valley and San Jose that empties into the bay at Alviso. The creek is most often shielded by a row of trees: at some points it's a dry bed, at one point a water supply for a pair of deer, or you cross over it on a cool wooden bridge or two, or a reservoir, a designated fishing point, and if we ever get rain again, the trail could dip into the water itself like feels like the Universal Studios tram ride, but instead of staged interaction with a holographic cast of Fast & Furious: dog poop, which is basically the same thing. It seems barren, but there are a few surprises. Besides numerous structures that either look like, depending on your level of cynicism: a) a treasure to an amateur photographer who makes you look at his pictures of random concrete tubes, old barns, and barely habitable shacks or b) a place where you'd find Lovely Bones. Also, a few pieces of graffiti (the only waterfowl I saw in the area was a spray-painted duck), some tree trunks that look like tractor engines. For some reason you'll pass fences that separate that patch of dry yellow grass from this patch of yellow grass. Landmarks include: the Santa Clara Model Aircraft Skypark. Signs actually instruct you to keep moving and duck! Maybe that's what the spray-painted duck was for. Plus, Ogier Ponds, Coyote Creek Golf Club, and the Gene Simpson Memorial Dog Training Area. Crap, I didn't know he died. I love KISS! We stopped at Coyote Ranch, which is (allegedly) "perfect for weddings". If you hate your bride. Had we gone one more mile, we would have made it to the Metcalf parking area after passing the "Tamienne Monument", an easy-to-overlook, extremely non-monumental plaque, which is said to be the geographical center of the Santa Clara Valley and not my co-worker Teresa who often thinks she is. Visitor Center to Metcalf is 9.4 miles, I haven't gone north of Metcalf yet but the trail passes through a chain of city/county park, dipping under the 101/85 interchange, and through San Jose six miles to Cottonwood Lake. You can go an extra 3.3 miles to Tully Library (where it seems to end), but your money shot is likely Hellyer County Park, so named because, "Hell, yer probably meet some of the dogs that pooped on the trail at the dog park.

heard great reviews about this business but i just called them today and they said they have not…read morebeen doing kayak rentals in 3 years!

I haven't been there bc I don't fish but if you do, and need bait, stop by. This family has been in…read moreAlviso for ages--and has been selling bait for ages. I'm happy to see them still offering these services for the fishermen choosing Alviso as the spot for their water time adventures. BTW I don't think they rent kayaks anymore. I hope you enjoy your time in Alviso. Happy fishing.

The first charter we booked had to be delayed for weather, and let me tell you--it was worth the…read morewait. I had no idea what was in store for us. They took us out to the center of about a dozen whales and those guys were having a heck of a day. We saw everything from feeding to fluking. We got so close we could see the barnacles on their tails. They were swimming under our boat! I thought it would be scary but it was just fascinating. Captain Smitty was funny and he really knows his stuff. He taught us a bunch about the whales, birds, and seals we saw. We had a great time and will definitely be booking again. Minimum of 4 people to book, and be sure to take your anti-nausea meds if you're prone to sea sickness--Captain Smitty gets you really close to the action, which means waves. Two in our group took dramamine and were just fine.

My family and I just went on a whale watching trip today…read more It's always part luck. Thankfully, we got lucky. Spotted a couple Gray Whales from a distance, and after a tip from another boat were able to get closer to two others swimming together and ride along with them for a while. Captain Smitty and Lee were great! Knowledgeable, friendly, informative, and great stewards of the sea, and marine life. We definitely recommend these guys. Go with an open heart, patience, and have fun!

My cousin and my thoroughly enjoyed our tour. The boat was comfortable and very quiet, and we were…read moreable to see lots of wildlife including otters, seals, pelicans, and more.

We had the best experience with Captain Joonya and were so lucky to see so many otters, seals, and…read morebirds on our trip. We even saw multiple groups of mating otters & a mother and baby!! The boat is so comfortable and beautifully decorated. My 99 year old grandmother had the best time & appreciated the extra blankets provided on board and how comfortable Captain Joonya made our family feel! We will definitely be back for another charter in the future!!

Had a great time deep sea fishing on the 7 hour adventure leaving from Santa Cruz on Stagnaro's…read more Came with the scout troop and the staff helped for any snags, and the captain kept putting us on the fish. We all caught our limit, and really enjoyed the day. The staff also were able to clean and fillet our fish on the way back to shore to make it easier on us. Will definitely do it again.

This was an incredible whale-watching experience. First, from the moment Abby (our marine wildlife…read moreexpert) gave us an informative introduction before boarding the Velocity to the end of the trip, the crew of the boat were knowledgeable and clearly happy in what they're doing. We saw three humpback whales, communicating with each other through pec flapping. We saw multiple tail flaps and tail throws, as well. The captain's alerts and instructions on where to look were consistently helpful. He also took us closer to shore to see two great white sharks, one of whom swam alongside the boat for a good 10-15 minutes. It was such a beautiful day on the water, I lost track of time! Other highlights were 100s of porpoising sea lions and multiple sightings of pelicans, terns, gulls, and other birds. Abby was happy to answer questions the whole time. There's something so sublime about seeing wildlife at sea. I've been on multiple whale-watching trips along the West Coast over the years, and this was my favorite, so far.