Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve

The preserve is just tiny, mostly up in the hills, unconnected to Coyote Creek, and the rest of the north valley is slated for industrial development. If you care about saving the Coyote Valley greenbelt, please sign this petition:

It’s a work in progress and trails are being maintained. Looks like they are putting in more picnic tables. Took a short hike around the easy Arrow loop to the look out, it’s a little strenuous if not in shape. Heard a wood pecker and saw a squirrel, was hoping for more wildlife. Nice big area for horse trailers, restroom, and paths well marked. I plan to go back.

Opened in June. Great for hiking and mountain biking – the only other people I came across were on bikes. No dogs allowed.
Not a ton of trail options. There really is just one 4-​mile loop, though you can choose to only complete certain parts of it. I did the full loop. It’s fairly easy with a little bit of incline to get you up on the hillside where the views are. Not much of the trail is shaded, so be prepared for that. There are also a few benches along the way for taking a break and/​or picnicking.
I don’t think very many people know about the trail… hence the lack of reviews here. Plus the parking lot was EMPTY. On a Saturday. On that note, it’s definitely worth checking out for a little exercise and to avoid the crowds that often gather on other trails nearby.

This park currently consists of a single 4 mile loop with some moderate upgrades and downgrades. About half of the trail is shaded by trees or the hillside (morning). There are some nice scenic outlooks of the valley near IBM.
The only problem is that this morning there was a really intense, overpowering smell of manure permeating the trail. You could still smell it even after the nose fatigue kicked in. It eventually went away by the end of our hike, but it was extremely distracting. Plus there was cow dung all over (it appears that the entire trail is in a cow grazing area). They do try to keep the trail clear though.
Overall it’s similar in terrain and viewpoints as Almaden Quicksilver but probably less difficult. I would recommend Quicksilver over this park; it isn’t next to farmland so no chance of the weird smell, plus it has way more trails.

My plan is to go hiking with my Bestie at Calero County Park on Sunday morning. We left very early to get to the destination. Reason is, first we want to achive the goal minimum of 6 miles and up, second is we try to avoid the heat, it starts to kick off around 9:30 — 10:00 AM. It’s perfect if we get done by 10:30 so we can get ourself some treats afterward.;-)
I’m kind of know that park usually open at 8:00 AM, we arrived there at 7:00 and of course the gate was closed with a big chain lock. Damn it. I tried to drive around to see if anywhere is a street parking so I can walk over but there’s nothing at all. Oh man 15 minutes passed, I stopped and searched on Unilocal to see if any hiking place close by and here I found Coyote Valley is the closest one. Thanks to Unilocal to save my life.;)
This preserve is open from 7:00 AM but I believe if you come ealier you still can get in and hike, there’s a gate but no lock on it. unless you want to be a good person not breaking the rule. In this case, I am not .;-)
A restroom is right at the entrance, I don’t see toilet paper been threw around, good but clean? I’m not sure., hey Hikers, you all know how is that look like .;-)
According to the sign when you enter the preserve, there’s only 1 trail to start up which is Arrowhead trail. I found out later that we just go around the whole loop and that’s it for the preserve. So next time if I come here I can start at the other direction. Total distance is 4 miles. What’s a big surprise for me cause seriously in my mind I think it should be a huge property when it call «Open Space Preserve «, but not this one.
The trail isn’t too hard but you can SYAO as well. You can see different view during the hike. Some parts of the trail were shady. Breathtaking pictures, if you’re lucky you could snap a closer pic of the deer. Overall, it’s beautiful but it’s just a short trail. Unlucky for us on that day, at some point there’s a heavy smell of Cow poops so bad and hang on for a long way made us want to throw up. Darn, next time I will have to bring the menthol oil with me. Beside the short distance and the ugly smell, it could get 5 star from me.
I will come back for sure, at least to get the yellow checkmark on Unilocal «Yay, you’re regular here, keep coming you’ll be a Duchess «…Aha, not sure about that.

Pristine hiking trail, moderately strenuous, four miles if you do it all. Hard to imagine sharing the narrow trails with bikes, but time will tell. Give it your best shot! The views are worth the work.

The Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve is like no other hiking spot in the South Bay. A short drive south of the developed portion of San Jose will transport you beyond metropolitan Silicon Valley into a world where agriculture and open space still exists as if it was still the Valley of the Heart’s Delight.
The preserve is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to sunset. There is only one trail called Arrowhead, which consists of three portions. The first leg is 1.7 miles of easy level. The second leg is 3.3 miles (including first leg) at moderate level. The last leg is 4 miles (including first and second leg) at a challenging level. By no means am I athletic or in shape, but I found the hike to be moderate and not challenging at any point. The area can get hot and dry during the summer so things could feel challenging if you go during the warmest part of the day or forget to bring a hat or water. Fortunately, there are trees scattered about to shade some parts of the trail.
The trail is multi-​use for hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riding; no dogs are allowed. There are two areas with tables and benches for picnicking, one by the entrance parking lot and another along the trail. The trail includes two scenic overlooks with benches to view the hillsides and Coyote Valley floor, including farmland and IBM’s Silicon Valley lab tucked in a bucolic setting.
3.5 stars for a unique hike where you can view the South Bay’s agricultural past in the present.