We parked at mocking bird lane at 10 am. Parking was full, took maybe 5 minutes to wait for someone…read moreto leave. Weather wasn't bad, warm. The trail: the map they give you is not easy to read plus the signs on the trail are not right. We meant to do 2 miles and ended up almost at 5 because we took a wrong turn. There is A LOT of uphill walking throughout the entire trail. I wouldn't say the trail is beginner friendly, but if you have a lot of time to finish 5 miles then these trails are great. Be aware there are a lot of snakes on the trail. Bring a change of clothes or extra clothes to cover yourself and extra water in case your trail takes longer than expected. Be safe!

We had a great time hiking this trail. We parked and entered on the Mockingbird Hill Lane side…read more Out of the several trail choices, we chose the hardest. Unfortunately, there is not much shade, but if you hike early in the day, you will not have any problems. There are also a lot fewer people on this side of the trail

Visiting my cousin's family in San Jose. Decided to come here as a first timer to refresh and…read morerecharge after my grandma's passing. Clear and fresh air, beautiful view, nice built trails. Got my steps in for the day. Really delightful.

This clean and accessible trail, located between and parallel to Alamitos Creek and Camden Avenue,…read morewas great for running this past Friday, a level paved pathway surrounded by scenery and nature (plenty of trees and black squirrels), a peaceful atmosphere with a few benches along the way, that's pretty much all I need. The parking lot at Pfeiffer Park was convenient.

I absolutely loved this trail I did the Lisa Killough it was 0.2 miles which was perfect because I…read morealready walked so much earlier in the day but my friend begged me and to my surprise all the loops are under 0.5 miles! The sun was setting it was about 66 degrees. The parking lot had lots of parking! And there is cell service which is great.

I love how easy this hike was! It's dog friendly (cat too) and easy for children to do…read more I normally don't like open space trails just because being exposed to the sun is not something I enjoy so much with hiking. However, since I was bringing my dog and my cat (first time), I wanted to make sure it was an easy trail for both of them. My Shiba Inu is 8, with developing arthritis, so this was an easy and short trail for her to do. Took us about an hour to complete the loop that we were on. If you need a break, there's two benches available to take a break at with a pretty nice view. If your dog is a squirrel chaser, I would not recommend this trail at all. There were so many squirrels!! Luckily for me, I had a good hold of my dog, but if she was a much larger breed, she'd probably pulled me left and right and would take me forever to get her back. So yes, I would not recommend this trail for dogs who get overly excited when seeing squirrels. Unless you're strong enough to hold them back every minute because I saw 2-10 squirrels every second ..not exaggerating. Out of respect for other Hikers who are afraid of dogs, pet is required to be on leash at all time. Waste bag is provided by park at the entrance of trail. Mountain biking is not allowed but I saw a lot of people with their bikes still. Some even on the trail. But they were respectful to hikers that day. So I'm not complaining. The drive up was super easy also! I'll be returning a few more times this year since my dog loved it very much.

Some friends from work asked me to organize a short hike. We…read morehad 9 people, carpooled into 2 cars to Pueblo Day Use Area. Started SouthWest ward on Mine Trail, passed restrooms, continued to Rocky Ridge Trail, left to Coyote Peak Trail, left to Hidden Spring trail to parking lot. 3.8 mile with 700 ft elevation gain, about 2 hours time at slow pace. It was a nice easy hike on a Sunday. I got to chat with friends while we walked in beautiful weather in mid Oct. Hardly anyone else on the trail - there were a few bikers, one trail runner, very few other hikers. Views of South San Jose were cool.

beautiful view. and it's quite a hike so be prepared and also get some water with snacksread more

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.

Back Valley Located…read morebetween San José and Morgan Hill is a gorgeous ±348-acre park that offers a no-frills hiking experience and superlative views of The Valley. This is one of OSP's smallest parks, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in quality. The Good: * Free to visit! * Mountain biking on certain trails (check map & signage) * Horseback riding on certain trails (check map & signage) * Restrooms in the parking lot * Picnic tables along the trails * The Arrowhead Trail Loop (±4 miles) is fairly easy, but does have a few decent uphills. However, we did it with three young children of varying ages, so it really wasn't an issue. * Great place for wildflower viewing--especially one year we barely had to leave the parking lot to be ensconced in Poppies! The Meh: * No dogs allowed * No trash cans, so pack it in and pack it out The Ugly: * The parking lot seems to have doubled since the last time we were here, which is a good thing because it used to fill up fast. It is still fairly small and only holds 27 cars--assuming no horse trailers are parked. There is also NO parking on Palm Ave. Conclusion: Small but mighty!

I hiked Sat 4/17/21 at Coyote Valley OSP, Morgan Hill. It's a 40min drive from North Fremont, Free…read moreparking, but on Saturdays have to be there before 8am. Park opens 7am-Sunset. Only 1 unisex vault toilet, it had tp and hand sanitizer. We did the 4mile loop hike: Heart's Delight Trail and Arrowhead Loop Trai, it's a One-Way trail due to Covid19. Gentle hills so there is climbing, they call it challenging, but it's really just moderate. Some views. Nice short hike in Morgan Hill.

Great option for mountain biking, walking, or hiking. The trail starts off easy, but gets steeper…read moreas you make your way up. I completed the trail on a mountain bike with minimal stops, and the entire round trip took about three hours. The trail is well maintained, and I did not notice any trash or debris along the way. Hydration is important for this trail, so make sure to hydrate the day before, during, and after your adventure. I brought about 3 liters of water in a camel-bak and was completely out by the time I made it back down. It is also important to be mindful of mountain bikers descending the trail, as some ride fast and may be wearing headphones, making them less aware of those who are ascending. There is no designated parking lot at the main entrance, but there are a few parking spots located along the side of the road.

One of my favorite hiking trails in the area! I love that it is very wooded and has a lot of shade…read moreand away from the madding crowds. The trail itself is pretty easy and flat. Great walk to take in the nature sights and get amazing views of the mountains. Watch out for the speeding bikers. Parking is very limited along the windy street, so be prepared for that.

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.