There are many possible routes in this park. This is an easy route.
Begin to head up the main trail passing through a cattle gate. 200 meters or so stay to the left on Harvey Bear Trail, Here you will begin a long but not so torturous climb. You will pass through a couple more cattle gates. Near the summit you will come upon the Coyote Ridge Trail marker, take a right onto the Coyote Ridge trail and continue to climb then the trail levels out giving you an opportunity to take in the beautiful views of Santa Clara Valley. Within a half mile you will come upon Willow Springs trail marker, head right going back down into the valley. You can pick up quite a bit of speed coming down so be wary of hikers and Horseback riders. Back down at the bottom you can take a cool down lap on the Martin Murphy trail before heading back to the parking lot. This is a series of trails that can be explored much deeper than this outline may suggest. One last note is that all Santa Clara County parks require a helmet.
The climb up to the top of the ridge is not so steep and the reward is the trail on the east side of the ridge. If you go quietly at the right time of day and season you can see wild boar, deer, turkeys, and maybe a coyote or fox. Incredible wildflower show in the spring. Lost of shade for those summer days.
| ThankI visited these trails for the first time today and expected an easier and more pleasant ride than the one I had. I have to admit that part of it is my own fault: I've been away from biking for quite a while and the ascents took a hold on my legs. What made it hard, however, was not the technical aspects of the trails themselves, but the unbearable heat and absolute lack of shade.
The trails are mostly fire roads, and they seem to have recently been covered with small pebbles (erosion prevention?) For bikers going up, the net result is very poor traction. There's little to no foliage covering the trails, so I'd recommend avoiding hot and sunny days. Another annoyance is the endless cattle gates: Just when you're picking up your rhythm, a closed gate forces you to stop and dismount. The problem is slightly more irritanting when you're going down.
On the way back, I took Townsprings Trail, which appears to be a fire road that became a singletrack due to lack of maintenance. The descent was moderate to good fun, but very bumpy with many cracks along the uneven terrain and endless bushes of prickly plants ready to rip the skin off my legs (I'm sure later in the summer those plants will be "sleeping", alleviating this problem).
Overall, I'd probably do it again (remember to warm up first), but I'd *definitely* avoid hot, sunny days. The high temperatures and the constant sun transformed the ride into a less than pleasant experience.
| ThankThis is a fun training ride. It will get your heart pumping a bit and has great views of the south valley. The fire road can be a bit loose and the rangers like to sometimes hang out at the bottom so watch the downhills. Branch off on Townsprings trail and Calaveras Trail for some fun single track. Nothing technical. Just some good fun.
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