I have come here countless times over the years. It's one of my favorite spots. It's peaceful, not…read moreoverly crowded, and has a really calming, almost zen feel to it. The views of the water and surrounding hills make it a great place to reset for a bit. Perfect for a quiet walk, light hike, or just getting away from the noise for a while.

Who Gives a Dam?…read more Man-made reservoir in the Santa Cruz Mountains that spans a solid 338-acres and is the third-largest in Santa Clara County. It is situated inside a ±950-acre County Park that has a variety of activities for all manner of outdoor lovers. The Good: *The southerly "beginning" to the Los Gatos Creek Trail which runs for ±10miles to the north. *Rowing, paddling, and fishing are all allowed (after proper inspections and licensing ofc) *Picnic tables near the reservoir *Limekiln trail was mostly shaded, which is good because this are can get very warm in the summer. *Park trails connect to Sierra Azul OSP and St Joseph's Hill OSP *Mountain bikes (NOT electric!) are OK *Leashed dogs are permitted. *Fairly decent cell phone signal (at least where we were) The Meh: *Parking is $6 if you park inside the lot, but free if you use the "street" parking (pay attention to signs!) or small dirt lots near the trailheads. *In regards to the parking, you don't need to park in the lot unless you're going to use/visit the reservoir itself. Otherwise, just find where your trail is and park there. *No swimming The Ugly: *We did the Limekiln Trail and that was a little rough-&-ready in some areas, as the years of water damage and infrequent maintenance are starting to take their toll.

A very popular park for picnics, biking and walking…read more I've been going to this park ever since I was a child. The playgrounds were great when I was a kid and they still are today. Always great to see birdlife here: geese, coots, ducks, grebes, herons and an occasional hawk. Very popular with dog walkers on a leash (the dogs, not the people ). Recommendation: The park officials would be praised if they organized a separate trail track for humans and bicyclists. It would make both walkers and bicyclists so very happy. This park's popularity makes it crowded at times. Especially weekends.

Is it just me or did this place go down hill? The grass area does not seem to be maintained at…read moreall. It's not leveled, tree trimmings and dead grass everywhere. Paid the $6 parking fee to enter and left 10 mins later. Went to a local park in Saratoga that had beautiful grass. Didn't pay parking. Laid out a picnic blanket to have lunch.

We loved the lake and stories about Nesty as they call the dragon. Fun stuff. The people are sweet…read moreand it's easy getting around. The food is great. I want to go back.

Getting there and having to pay for limited parking is the worst, but if you can stomach that,…read moreyou'll be rewarded with a nice serene lake! It's still pretty much a secret and for pretty good reason.. The road to there is rough and windy. There's also not much at the park. The prices for boat and water stuff rental is pretty reasonable.

This is a nice calm park to spend some time surrounded by nature. The path and picnic areas are…read morefairly clean. They have street parking and also paid parking lot as well. I noticed it was paid parking last minute so I went outside and parked on the street. I'd say it'll be better if the parking price was posted easy to see at the entrance booth. I noticed some dirtiness on the picnic tables but that's expected for public park outdoor tables, and I don't think it's a big issue.

One of our favorite places in San Jose! There's so much to do at the park, either take a lovely…read morewalk, enjoy the water, or ample activities. Theres ample parking on the side street. The loop around the lake is really lovely. Definitely recommend on a beautiful weekend morning!

***the lake itself is part of a community called HIDDEN LAKE as well***…read more OVERALL: Meh. Wouldn't go out of my way to drive here to walk; therefore the 4 stars rating. Due to being part of a community, there are a ton of guest parking (especially near the gates to this park) BUT if you keep driving, the parking lot for this "park" is on the outside (you turn in with the sign "HIDDEN PARK LAKE" in green lettering/tanish brown background and there are a few spots for you to pick from). Two stairways up to other flat cement ground trails. Very quarry lake vibes but not much water. Lake itself is a smaller circular flat cement ground leveled trail. Regarding up the stairs: One way does end up at another park whereas the other way just ends up in another neighborhood/main road. Lack of shade. Lots of ducks. There's few places to sit. Few trash bins. No visible toilets.

Not huge, but it's a great stop, especially when you're biking in the morning hours when the sun…read moreisn't too hot in Milpitas, CA. There aren't many cars on the roads between 10am-12noon, so it's a breeze riding a bike around and resting for a hydration stop here. Tiny public parking lot onsite off Milpitas Blvd. Hidden Lake neighborhood have peaceful homes and nice walking paths to get a glimpse of the small lake sometimes filled with ducks. You can easily walk up and down stairways or bike around the neighborhood area near the homes. Yes, there are picnic tables and families do stop to enjoy small gatherings. Hidden Lake Park is not far from retailers/restaurants/grocery stores/fast foods/etc. Convenient. Not many visitors on weekdays. It's always clean when I stop by seasonally for a morning biking routine. The clouds look great outside today, so it wasn't too hot under the sunshine. Overall, good place to chill before continuing onto Milpitas Blvd. where there's bike friendly streets now. Easy to follow the paths and navigate around town.

A nice flat concrete trail, good for a leisurely stroll around the park, and for runners like me,…read moreoptions to increase the distance and challenge as it connects to other nearby trails (Los Alamitos Creek Trail and Upper Guadalupe River Trail). With the trail wrapping around Almaden Lake Park, I was able to enjoy the scenery along the pathway while attending the SJ Water Lantern Festival this past weekend (for the umpteenth time). A lovely setting with enough space to get my steps in, I have no complaints.

Lucky to have a spacious trail near home. I park on the street to avoid the parking lot fees, but…read morefor those that end up picnicking and have lots of things to carry, it would be worth it. Dog friendly, and people can run, walk, or cycle on the flat trails.

Took the scenic route today and came across the Uvas Reservoir. The water line was low however it's…read morea nice place to fish, picnic, or go for a hike. It was very calming and relaxing to be among the trees. I saw lots of bicyclists ‍ riding down the hill, taking in the breeze.

We stumbled upon this park after having to turn around from Uvas Canyon County Reserve for not…read moreknowing to reserve a spot ahead of time. The hike was about less than 30m around the reservoir; it was beautiful, and we got to see plenty of wild flowers and cherry blossom. There are plenty of parking spaces and some picnic benches. Pics were from Feb, so I'm not sure you still can see the wild flowers now. Overall, it's a very pleasant hike.

They updated the playground in spring and it's really nice. Section for toddlers and one for bigger…read morekids- with updated fixtures and things. They have swings to accommodate everyone and lots of areas to climb and crawl. Very clean and well-kept up. Paid parking lot next to the playground, or park down the street and walk over.

11 am in the summer. Playground has ZERO SHADE. Playground is nearly empty because it's too hot to…read moreuse. Classic San Jose to build a new playground and add no shade

This review is specifically for the Waterfall Loop Nature Trail within Uvas Canyon Park, one of the…read moreBay Area's many "hidden gems." Nothing like a relaxing hike along a pristine nature trail to clear the mind and nourish the soul. I noticed that one recent review calls this hike "easy" but as we were climbing the stairs from the parking lot, we encountered two young women who looked to be in their 20s who were going in the opposite direction, returning to the parking lot. "It's beautiful," one of them volunteered to us, "but it's really HARD!" And indeed, on the trail we encountered young people who were visibly panting, even though the Waterfall Loop trail is shorter and easier than others in the park. So you might want to take that into account, FWIW, as the expression goes. It might also be helpful to mention the following: * The rules of this park call for purchasing an entry pass/parking permit online BEFORE you arrive. The reason is the limited number of spaces. Your permit is good for entry during a ONE-HOUR WINDOW for which you make your reservation. The person in the car ahead of us hadn't purchased a permit in advance and was able to use a credit card to purchase it at the entry gate but that might only be done when ample space in the lot is available. * To access the park, you must drive through a private 110-acre resort (Sveadal, meaning Swedish Valley), owned and operated by the Swedish American Patriotic League since 1926. It's a SINGLE-LANE road that is NOT LEVEL (quite rocky). You will want to make sure that your vehicle is in reasonably good shape for this drive. The only really scary part of this road for us was that at a couple of points, the incline is steep enough that you can't see ahead of you on this single-lane road. So you have to trust that no other vehicle is going faster than it should be coming toward you, in the opposite direction. * One more point ("muy importante"/very important): If you're coming for the waterfalls, use your preferred AI platform to check to make sure that the water will be flowing at the time of your visit. That's because the falls are generally seasonal and dependent on the amount of rain during preceding months. The falls are not large and thundering but they are nonetheless quite beautiful and soothing. PS: For those who don't know Spanish but may be interested: The Park is named after the Spanish word for grapes (uvas), referring to the abundance of wild grapes (Vitis californica) that early settlers found growing along the creek and throughout the canyon.

The best hike I've ever been on! Great views with multiple waterfalls throughout the trail and a…read morehuge plus that the park is completely dog-friendly. Easy parking but you have to reserve a spot ($6) ahead of time. We only booked a day before and there were still a lot of availabilities. The reserved hour is only a time frame of when you have to arrive to the park but you can stay for as long as you would like. My printer ended up not working the day of so I called the park and they were so nice in offering that I just write my reservation number on paper and place it on my dash. The weather was so nice when we went (mid March) and almost all of the trail was beautifully shaded. We did the Waterfall Loop trail which was about 3 miles and lasted about 1 hr & 40 min. Moderately challenging and such a fun workout with absolutely amazing views. I loved everything about this park!