A great little spot to get up out of the city air of San Jose beautiful skies, peaceful quiet not too busy if you're looking for a little get away from everybody it's worth the drive. It is a slow steady road going kitten to the top but so worth it. read more

This was a really great park with endless trails for different ranges of hikers. It's always best to come early in the morning due to the limited parking. The loop around the lake is pretty great and there's a lot of sights to see. The middle islands have some really cool and rare birds. We were able to run into different people and some were experts in bird spotting, which is always a cool thing. There's so many different types of animals so it was an exciting hike. read more

The main campground entrance is 10 minutes from Quimby road (Sikh Gurdwara area), 15 minutes from McKee. Parking costs $6 at the campground parking lot. The Quimby road route is steeper and more scenic. You'll also find one of the quintessential date spots in San Jose. At night, you'll know you're there when you see people parked up on the side of the road admiring the lights of San Jose. It's a good park. Shade is eh, but some trails do have shade.. if you're adventurous enough to look for them! It's amazing how close Joseph Grant is to San Jose, especially since it almost feels like a different area. The trails near the parking is very flat (Hotel Trail), but there are some forks that lead a little higher and deeper into the hills. Across 130, you'd get to Grant Lake parking lot, which is free and leads to more trails. Grant Lake is a fishing spot for Bluegill and Bass. There is also McCreery Lake and some very small streams. There's also a bunch of trails, like Halls Valley Trail and Los Huecos Trails (moderate difficulty with no shade). Lots of animals on this park like different kinds of rabbits, pigs (or boars?), deer, skunks, raccoons, and bald eagles! read more

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I don't really like to go out camping but my husband brought me here. This is my first time to camp and it's not too bad of an experience. He saves two slots for us #7 & #8 we are 5 in the family. My husband, me, my mom and my two sons. I like how the restroom is close to us. Even if you can hear the hand dryer and people keep coming one by one I'm comfortable how we can see people even late at night. The restrooms are clean I just wish they sanitize or mop the floors or have air fresheners in the bathroom, I like clean bathrooms. The campsite was small but it's okay with me we like the campfire and seeing all sorts of birds and animals around. And I love hearing wolves and owls in the middle of the night. Another convenience, is that the park is close go our house it's only 30 minutes away. I love JD Grant's house it's so beautiful. His garden, his kitchen, the surroundings etc. I love seeing wild pigs and his cute babies running around. It reminds me of Hakuna Matata in Lion King. It was a good experience and we will definitely go back with our other relatives and families. read more

One special thing about the Bay Area is that on top of its bustling cities and expansive suburban communities, there are actually quite a few parks and nature reserves. After moving to Southern East Bay, I've recently started to explore these beautiful parks with great views, and that includes Joseph D Grant County Park. My friend and I went here for a morning walk along with her dog (this park is dog-friendly!). They don't have trash cans available for dog feces, so please be courteous. Located in Eastern San Jose, the drive was quite spectacular. On the way up, you'll get a beautiful view of the South Bay, which is something I actually have never seen before. There was a $6 parking fee and I believe they take credit cards. The parking lot is huge and there weren't many people there during our walk. In the beginning of the trail, there are horse-riders passing by, so please watch your step for horse wastes. We also stumbled upon a few animals such as lizards. The walk was very pleasant, very suitable for people who prefer a light trail walk experience since we saw a few elderly couples. There are areas where you'd be walking for 30 minutes without shade, so I suggest going here early in the morning or late afternoon. I really enjoyed this park and it amazes me to have these types of parks in my backyard and still feel like I am far away from the Bay. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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Beautiful and well maintained campgrounds. Bathrooms and showers are clean. Ice and firewood available at main entrance. Just look out for aggressive yellowjackets! They are carnivores and very attracted to all meat. We had a great time exploring Grant Ranch, Grant Lake, the rose garden, and of course Lick Observatory! Highly recommend! read more

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A nice little park in the hills. It's no easy task getting here, but once you're here, you're here! It's not the largest park, but it's not the smallest either. Plenty of trails and goodies to be found. It's also on the way to Lick Observatory so you can't miss it if you're going there. A nice little spot to either way, or throw a picnic and BBQ. It's a bit on the higher altitude size, so it can get cold. Still. great spot. read more

i've lived in the bay area 13+ yrs and never visited this park, despite the fact that it's less than 1 hr from where i live! with over 50 miles of hikeable trails, panoramic views of san jose and a campground for multiple day stays, this santa clara county park is definitely one to visit especially if you are local! i booked a campsite at snell campground and grabbed my husband and 6 friends for a weekend. these campsites are SPACIOUS! i've been camping many times and it's usually hard to fit 2 cars, and more than 3-4 tents, plus all of our equipment, but this site fit all 6 of our cars (helpful for loading/unloading) and all 6 of our tents, with room for more! even though we stayed at a more primitive campground, we enjoyed the extra space and raw feeling of being closer to nature. the campground also had a fire ring, picnic table and bench, and bear locker. we actually walked through the more modern campground, halls valley, and even though they had better facilities, marked spaces, paved roads, etc, the campsites were probably 1/2 the size of what we had. from our campground, we could access a number of different trails, snell trail, barn trail, lower san felipe trail, and my favourites, the dairy and dutch flat trails. the dairy and dutch flat trails formed a 3mi loop around the campground and offered some beautiful views of lick observatory (atop mount hamilton) and surrounding peaks of jd grant's trails. there was a scenic overlook at the top of the dutch flat trail which offered an unobstructed view of downtown san jose, east san jose, south san jose and more. we really lucked out on the weather...for mid-october, the temperatures were near perfect, around 75-80 for the daytime high, but only hot for a couple hours during the afternoon since the sunset was around 1830, and probably 50-55 for the nighttime and early morning low, not too cold! the staff were friendly and very helpful, the facilities were generally well maintained. i really appreciated that there were so many restrooms facilities on site, modern flushable toilets as well as porta-potties. all of them had toilet paper. the modern facilities were fitted with hand dryers, running water, soup, and even hot showers with strong water pressure! the showers were available 24/7 and free, to boot! i really enjoyed making this my home for 2 days and can't wait to come back for another adventure. although located in santa clara county, and barely 30min from san jose, i actually felt like i was being transported somewhere else, temporarily, to get away from the hustle and bustle of silicon valley. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

We were welcomed by a very friendly and helpful ranger. The bathrooms were clean. Our sites had plenty of shade. Lots of wildlife. Easy to purchase firewood and ice. read more

As long as you don't get into someone's face, It's okay to go out during shelter-in-place. Especially when you need to exercise, Or you'll get some kind of disease otherwise. I've been to this park twice One cloudy day, and when it was nice One trail leads to a ranch house built in 1881 Folks who lived there are now gone. Somewhere outside we found a payphone, Youngins wouldn't have known Along the road was a big water tank Don't think you can open with a crank! Hiking to the top of the hill The picturesque view was a thrill. You can play with a drone up there, flying so freely in the air. Returned again one month into the pandemic. This is one insane epidemic! Kids enjoyed playing by the creek. Fish and bugs, they wanted to seek. California poppies everywhere Golden and so pretty, I swear! Unspoiled and beautiful landscape, it sure is a great place to escape. read more

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I love the fact that we have such great trails so nearby to home. It's the perfect place to get caught up in nature and escape the humdrum of normal routines. The amount of wildlife we saw was insane. On my one trip I saw: - a horde of wild pigs (literally like 40 and i didn't even know we had wild pigs) - 3 coyotes - a lizard - a ton of squirrels - many variations of birds And lets not forget the fantastic lake views. Applicable to all levels of hikers, you have to come here. Take your lady friend here if you get the chance for a lovely active date day. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Lizard - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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This is a gorgeous park, hidden away in the mountains off east San Jose. To reach the park, you first need to drive about 20 minutes on mountainy roads, but the view along the drive is great and you can see downtown San Jose in the distance. Once you get to the park, there are plenty of parking spots, but admission fee to the park is a one time $6. The park is super spread out and open, and there are several lakes to see and hills that you can scale. I really liked the green rolling hills and the patches of wild poppies, mustard flowers, and lavenders that are scattered around the park. This is a nice place to go if you want to get away from the city and enjoy nature without spending too much effort. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Go out and enjoy the outdoors with this 6 miles hike. Beware that it's a lot more uphill hiking than Almaden quick silver mocking trail or the McCabe one. It's has pretty flowers and nice scenery. Very clear paths. Enjoy your Day! read more

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Came here on a Sunday morning around 9AM, $6 parking fee to enter the park and was given a map. Parking lot had a few cars, saw just a handful of people on the trail, not very many at all. Did Dairy, Dutch Flat and Brush Trail Loop, mostly unshaded, views at the top were great with the mountains behind as well as the cityscape below. Would recommend bringing the map, although the signs at all the intersections which were helpful. read more

Not sure if I want to share this gem but with all that is going on, we can all use a little more happiness. This is an awesome park if you want to hike in solitude. At least it was till I posted this on Yelp! :) The trails are wide and rolling. I often do an 8 mile loop that is fairly challenging. Most of the trails are exposed so it is best to hike early in the day. I've seen wild pigs, wood peckers, trees filled with stored acorns from the wood peckers, blue birds, snakes, and the usual critters. Great views of San Jose, the Lick Observatory, and the park itself. They have a bathroom with flushing toilets and sinks. There is a fee to park. I love this park mainly for the solitude and good workout. The ride up to the park can be a bit nerve wracking (narrow winding road). read more

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We went camping here for the first time as our usual spots in the Santa Cruz Mountains literally don't exist any more. Outside of learning that it is super hot here in the summer and we should go in the Fall or Spring, I o have anything negative to say. Check in is very easy, and firewood is sold at the ranger station (in a box, which is nice because it doesn't get your car dirty and provides kindling). The sites are relatively far apart, but due to lack of tree density you can see everyone in every site. The first thing we noticed when we got out of the car was the lack of mosquitoes, it's amazing, we literally didn't see any. There are flies, but not too many, and they go away at night. Our site (#5) had a couple mostly level spots for tents, the picnic table wasn't super clean, but wasn't bad, and the fire pit was great and has a grate you can cook on. The bathrooms are clean, and centrally located so you don't have to walk too far. Hiking is awesome and there is an abundance of wildlife: we saw deer, turkeys, turkey vultures, & wild pigs, which is great for the kids. Overall an awesome experience, and we can't wait to go again when it's cooler. read more

We booked two campsites for four families, each with two kids. Beautiful rolling hills dotted with oak trees, and you'll see wild turkey, deer, and most mind blowing of all-- wild boar! The piglets are adorable but the adults are so big you'll think you're looking at a small cow at first. We were in campsite 9, which was close to the bathroom but it was hard to find a flat spot to pitch the tent. Bring LOTS of water when you go hiking and hike in early morning/late afternoon -- some of the trails are very exposed. read more

*******Halls Valley to Antler Point********* Activity Type: Hiking Nearby City: San Jose Length: 9.4 total miles Elevation Gain: 1,900 feet Trail Type: Loop Skill Level: Moderate to strenuous Duration: 4 to 6 hours Season: Best September through June Top Elevation: 2,995 feet A well-kept secret is now out of the bag--there are hidden waterfalls after long and/or heavy rains here, and there's also a panorama that rivals any in the Bay Area. Situated at the base of mighty Mount Hamilton, scenic Halls Valley is suspended between two ridges in the Diablo Range and was formed by earth movement along the still active Calaveras Fault. The gorgeous oak trees on this climb dot an open landscape that takes on a unique, sculpted appearance, and the oak-ringed meadow glows green in winter and spring. This is also one of the best hikes in the Bay Area for photographing wildflowers that adorn the rolling and grassy slopes in spring. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - CONTROL YOUR PEE? Haha! - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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When I think of CA camping, this park is exactly what I would imagine. Rolling hills, cows, dry ground and CA oaks. Beautiful scenery when the weather is cooperative, but when it is windy and cold.... well, it was still fun camping here for the Memorial weekend. This park was pretty much the only available camp site in the Northern CA County, City, Federal, State, and Private camp ground when I was looking for a camp site for Memorial weekend. Due to that reason, I was wondering what is wrong about the park? But I didn't have to worry any more when I got there. Our site was overlooking a beautiful green meadow and hills, pretty good size lot with some shade, clean food storage and camp fire ring. Now, I saw some "not desirable" sites but overall, each site was well spaced out and taken care of. There are tons to do around here - especially hikers and bikers, be prepared to get your heart rate pumped up on those steep hills! And also be prepared to see some serious horse droppings!! There is a good size lake and some smaller lakes (more like a pond) for fishing also. Our memorial weekend was a pretty cold one. Strong sideways wind shaking our tents left and right, as we shiver in the cold night hearing coyotes hauling not so far away, I was thinking what a cool park it is to be so close to the city, but yet still let us experience such a wonderful adventure. Camp here, or come here to hang out for a day, either way is nice. I wish you will hike up to one of the hills and enjoy the grand view of the park from the top! You won't be disappointed. read more

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Beautiful park and a scenic drive as well with great views of the valley. Trails are well maintained and not too strenuous. Plenty of wildlife to be seen,and very few people. One of our very parks in the bay area. read more

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Went to Joseph D. Grant County Park after many years, my last review was back in 12/20/08! I had a FREE pass, but it's $6 to park at the location I was at, if you park at Grant Lake it's FREE. We did Heron Trail - Dutch Flat Trail, went to Scenic Overlook Elev 2,457', we had lunch there they have bench and picnic tables. We continued on Dutch Flat Trail - Brush Trail Connector - Brush Trail - Eagle Trail - Lower San Felipe Trail - back to car. Highlight was the views at Scenic Overlook and after lunch around 1pm I saw Wild Pigs! One was just eating and I took some pictures, talked too loud and scared it away, then noticed a pig pack ran up the trail and I got to see them run even the babies too. It was cool. read more

This is one of the Santa Clara County recommended parks for social distancing during covid, as the grounds are quite expansive. The drive to get here starts in San Jose and follows the windy Mt Hamilton road (a super popular road biking route). After climbing in elevation for ~20 minutes, you will arrive at the park. Great riparian terrain and lots of birds (we saw a great blue heron) and small wildlife. Most trails are exposed, so make sure to bring sun protection. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Fun drive up the winding Quimby road hills with steep N narrow road but rewarding scenic views of San Jose! Great spot to hike, multiple trails for different hiking levels. Huge trails! Dog friendly!! Clean bathroom!! Historical! Definitely coming back... read more

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I greatly enjoyed the wildflowers yesterday at the Park. I spent most of my time around the Bass Lake Trail and on the Hotel Trail south of where it intersects the Bass Lake trail. Wildflowers everywhere. I probably saw 20 or more varieties. I included a few photos below. Went again to look at wildflowers on 4/27/17. Did a loop of Hall Valley Trail to Canada De Pala Trail (ridge top) and down on Yerba Buena Trail. Best wildflowers were on Canada De Pala closer to Yerba Buena and then for most of Yerba Buena. Great views from the top of the ridge. read more

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Not sure why this park is so desolate in winter (actually, it's really great for those who go to it). This park is over the hills just east of San Jose. On my last trip, while San Jose was fair and dull in weather, once over the hill, the valley was covered in lovely mist, making for a nice cool hike without the sweat. All three hikes have been with such cool, brisk, refreshing weather. The views are nice and dramatic, and even better with fall colours. I discovered this park about six weeks ago and have been back three times now. Each time has brought different encounters with wildlife worth remembering. 1st visit: I came across a large (female) barn owl in the fields near Eagle Trail. It stayed in the open field even as I approached. Initial thought was that it was injured. Later realised it was able to fly away and it went off nearby. A small, grey bunny watched from under the brushes as I interacted with the owl. 2nd visit: Wild pigs that have rutted up the grounds all over the trails. Saw the pigs. Kept a distance. 3rd visit: Deer, cows, hawks. But the highlight was a merlin perched atop a stop sign as I drove by. Merlins are a seasonal migratory visitor to the bay area. Seeing a beautiful falcon up this close was phenomenal. Yes, it's a little steep drive up Quimby. 130 is a smoother, albeit a slightly longer, drive. Yes, the views are beautiful. And yes, it can get a little bit muddy (aka. so many more interesting wildlife footprints to see). It's worth a good trip again and again. Also, they're dog-friendly. Most places in the south bay are not. Will be coming back to try fishing and other hiking trails. read more

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Had great time here at this little Gem of a park. Camped over new years eve. - grant house closed the no tour guide (seems only have one volunteer) - park rangers don't always man the park entrance. (So if your going out during checkin get the weekly code) We came back from observatory and had to park at the gate and hike at night to the camp grounds to get the camp host to let us in. But other wise great place to stay advise to look at images spot #6 is level on both side and close to the restrooms. read more

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This park is so cool! Great for a picnic, hike, learning about local history, or just to get out of the hustle and bustle of the South Bay. The local guide who hangs out at the farm house is so nice and personable. He has worked their since the park's inception in the 70's and is the local historian of the park's property, formerly owned by the Grant family. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

If it's a cool afternoon, it's time to take the mountain bikes up to Grant Park. We usually have the trails to ourselves. Today, however, we had to reroute our planned ride due to a herd of cows we did not want to deal with on the Corral Trail. No worries; we just turned around. Afterward we parked our bikes and strolled around the Grant house property. It is so picturesque and serene. We learned that during the summer the house will be open to visitors on the weekends. We ran into a helpful park volunteer, Michael, who was eager to hear any recommendations for trail maintenance. read more

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I booked a campsite for a small group of friends when I found that many other parks were booked. Admittedly I did wonder why there were so many sites open at this park, but went ahead, and am so glad I did! The sites (in Snell campground) were clean and relatively spacious, though some are close together. We were able to use the fire ring (which has a grate as well) with wood that we brought in. Water was a short walk from our site as was the bathroom. Bathrooms were clean and in good working order. The trails we hiked were well maintained and clear, though the signage wasn't always crystal clear at trail crossings/intersections. My only "nit" with this experience was that the ranger told us to take down our hammocks, which was annoying because I went out of my way to find any rules or regulations about hammocks at the park and found nothing (before I had even packed for the trip). Overall a really nice area, not too hard to get to, and lots of space available! read more

I wanted to update to share some of the wildlife that you can see while visiting this amazing place. Of course there are deer, especially in the early morning or evening hours. Wild Turkeys are quite abundant as well. I was pleasantly surprised to see so much wildlife while taking the short hike up to Grant Lake. There were Canadian Geeze, Sandpipers, Egrets, Wood Ducks, Turkey Vultures, Stellar Jays in the trees, a ton of Quail in the brush that take off as soon as you approach which is pretty cool to see. By the lake there are a couple of different frog species as well as some Salamanders. I am sure you'll see a whole lot more if you spend some time exploring the area. Definitely a place to visit. And yes there are campsites in the park. read more

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Love coming up here. If you don't like twisty drives, then this park isn't for you. But, if you like a beautifully scenic drive, with a high chance of wildlife along the way, it's definitely worth it. $6 gets you in and parked, or you can park for free a bit further down on the north side of 130. The paid area allows you access to the campgrounds (you still have to pay for them separately), picnic tables, BBQ pits, restrooms, showers, etc. whereas the free area is basically trail and lake access. I've been to Joseph D Grant park twice now, and am planning on camping here in late September. The trail signage is primitive, but then again, this park in its entirety is a bit primitive. People seem to forget that this isn't a picnic-in-the-park type of place. Can you use it for that? Sure. Is that the true beauty of this park? Absolutely not. What really stands out here is the amount of wildlife you can readily spot/encounter in close quarters. There's currently 10,000 Acres belonging to the park which is to soon be expanded according to the park staff I spoke with last. You can hike and wander more or less aimlessly, as well as off the beaten path in many spots. If you're a wildlife guru, or a herp nut, this is the place for you. On my last visit (the last Sunday in May) , I spotted 4 snakes, about 3 dozen lizards of various types, many sorts of dragonflies and spiders, and a myriad of birds. Bring a camera and a quick hand, the photographic memories speak for themselves. I'm hoping to see plenty of tarantula activity up here come October. It's also my understanding that Puma (Mountain Lion), Bobcat, and Wild Pig sightings are somewhat common here, as well as the occasional appearance made by the American Bald Eagle. You won't be disappointed any time of year. read more

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I would give this place 5 stars but if you continue to read my review you will see why they lost a star! My boyfriend, his family and friends decided to come up to this park for a last minute birthday camping trip for my boyfriends BDay.We called Thursday and the women let us know it was too late to make a reservation but to come the day of our camping trip and check availability. So we went up around 9 am on Saturday and were able to find a spot that was not reserved. We went to the machine and paid 24.00 which includes 2 cars that can park at the camping site. If you have extra cars you will need to park in the overload parking lot and shuttle family or friends to and from your camping spot, which is what we had to do. When we arrived at our spot around 3pm we gathered our things put up tents and set up for some BBQ AND FUN! Friends gathered and family came. We had a total of 5 cars at our camping site and we knew sooner or later we would have to move three of them. My boyfriends cousin put up a hammock because he wanted to be one with the great outdoors and sleep under the stars. His dream was crushed when a female ranger came through and crashed our site. She was not friendly about it at all. We knew we had too many cars but we didn't know about no hammocks, as it was not stated in the camping rules. With her rude demeanor we quickly put down the hammock and moved three of our cars. We soon continued with our birthday fun. Around 10:30 pm we had our hookah set up eating some grub and we had some music playing. Then out of nowhere! three rangers two of whom I think were sheriffs creeped up on us with no notice through the darkness. My boyfriend even claimed he heard one of them say " is that a bong". lol They creeped up on us then said we couldn't have a wood fire, which we did. so we said no problem and put it out. Then they scoped out the hookah and saw we weren't doing anything illegal. They told us to turn the music down and that we were fine. As they walked away I heard one of the guy sherriff/ranger if everything was good? The women ranger said yes. I guess she needed backup her second time to harass us. Oh well. I know they are doing their job but it felt a little violated. Even though we had this little uncomfortable experience I would go back because I loved the park a lot and their bathrooms were clean and they have showers! Just stick by every rule and be straight-edged and you wont get harassed! *24.00 per night includes 2 cars to park at campsite,with additional parking to shuttle family/friends to and from camp site. Hot showers with bathrooms with flushing toilets. garbage cans and food cubby with lock at every site. Fire pit with grill top and 1 picnic table. read more

This is a great place for local camping. It's less than an hours drive from the South Bay Area and is very quiet and peaceful. We were able to book a Saturday night not too long in advance, even during peak summer seasons. Even though it was a severe drought year, there were not any red flag warnings during our stay, so campfires and bbq's were allowed. We stayed in site #25, which had a nice view and shade in the morning, but was in the hot sun during most of the afternoon and early evening. The site was very large however, and we were allowed to park 3 cars on it with no issue. The bathroom facilities are very clean, some of the cleanest I've ever used on a camping trip. Amenities included free shower usage with warm water, waterless urinals, automatic flush toilets, and hand dryers that can be turned up to dry hair. The park was also dog friendly, as long as dogs were on leash. Would definitely consider coming again for a quick weekend getaway. read more

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It seems really close to civilization but not underestimate the winding drive up to the mountain. In my opinion, the drive was almost as rewarding as the hike. Keep your eyes open or you might miss some stunning scenic view. The hike could be strenuous or moderate depends on the trail you take. Regardless, elevation change will be substantial but throughout. The panorama view at the top of the peak was nice but the trail through the oak tree area was just as stunning. Encountered quite a bit of beautiful birds but didn't see any wild boars. (only saw the tracks) Saw lots of squirrels and field mice. Beautiful wild flowers along the way. read more

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As you make your way up this steep and winding road, you will find that there are a few locations to go hiking. This can be confusing, so take your pick and just check it out. Once you are out there you will find that there are considerably less people than other popular places in the bay area. This is most likely because it takes so long to get there. This is great to be able to get away without driving too far. The views from all sides are spectacular. If you are up high enough you will see the valley. From the other view you can see the observatory. If you are ambitious you could hike all the way up there but its going to be steep! read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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The trails are very marked well *after* you get out of the parking lot area and figure out how to get to the trails...It would've been nice to have a sign before then so we didn't wander around in circles for 10 minutes. Also, the topographic map provided is not very detailed. Be forewarned-- it can be very misguiding. Also be forewarned: mountain bikers. Going very fast downhill. Some are not so courteous. And...cow poop. Because of my epic gringoness and curiosity about the name, we hiked up Los Huechos trail. Whooo boy was that a butt buster. My glutes were sore for three days. The way down, on the other trails, was quite mellow by comparison. Think twice before going UP Los Huechos. This place is quite beautiful in spring, with ridiculous amounts of wildflowers in literally every color of the rainbow. I probably wouldn't go here in late fall, though, typically the hottest part of the year in the bay area. You'd want to bring a LOT of water. Pro: real bathrooms at the picnic area with running water. Also, BBQ grills & picnic areas seem nice. read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - It's best NOT to approach the cows. They may turn out to be angry steers. Like this one. - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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I am still waiting for Yelp staff to accept the name update to this listing - it should be "Joseph D. Grant County Park". Anways, here is the review. You want to see some stunning views/sunsets (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332061006/in/photostream/) /moonlit-nights (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332058918/in/photostream/) over Silicon Valley, this is it. Whether it is a hazy glow from the sun over the bay (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332057493/) or smoke signals from above (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332056215/in/set-72157594437142182/), this is the place where you get it. The road, Hwy 130 / Mt. Hamilton Road, is a scenic drive (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332119788/in/set-72157594437142182/) all the way to the observatory, though unfortunately there is no shoulder almost the entire length, so you can't stop arbitrarily. The trails in the park are wonderful (http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332054043/in/photostream/) . Would highly recommend the 11 mile trail detailed here - http://www.durt.org/runs/grant.html. Will take more than 5 hours, but there is enough room here for a picnic! The othe trail, from the lake going up very close the observatory, is steep, but I would still recommend it since you can turn back at any point and the leave the rest for another day! For cloud-spotters, this is heaven-sent. See http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332116657/, http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332123457/, http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332062081/, and http://flickr.com/photos/gurumlore/332109530/ read more

Joseph D Grant County Park - Lick Observatory from a trail in Joseph Grant Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Went here on a hike by myself a couple weeks ago. The scenery is gorgeous if you're coming in spring while all of the hills are still green. Lots of cute wildflowers and a cute creek. ***IF YOU ARE COMING FROM SJ BE CAREFUL*** I'm not the most experienced driver so driving down Quimby was pretty terrifying. Most people that go up these roads are used to it so they'll speed up and pressure you to go faster but if you're used to city driving it could be rough. Really sharp winds, cliff drop offs, very narrow. If you're scared of that kind of stuff maybe have someone else drive. Also have good breaks, the way down you're going to have to ride them a bit. Besides that I am very happy I survived the drive because the park was beautiful. There are maps right by the entrance. Even if you didn't have one the road and landscape would have made it pretty easy to navigate back to the parking lot. Be aware that there are some mini trails that are not mapped. Not sure where they go but next time I come up with someone else I think I'm going to explore them. The way back down from Yerba Buena trail is pretty rough on the knees so if you have issues with that kind of stuff you might want to take it slow. Overall, the trails here can let you choose between easy and slightly challenging hiking, but nothing hard at all. Strong recommendation if you're newer to hiking or coming back after a break. read more

My favorite place to camp in santa clara county. Unlike the coyote lake campground where people are packed in tiny campsites like sardines, this park has lot of space and privacy. Restrooms lights weren't working on the night we camped and the staff was out in 10 minutes to fix them! read more

This is a good place to have South-Bay expreience. Green grass, open space, nice view. I hiked to scenic overlook point. (other side of Antler point) You can see all South Bay, Penninsula area. One thing you notice is how pollution is bad in the Bay area. brown layer covers that area. It is a good place to appreciate the nature and think about environment at the same time. read more