Henry W Coe State Park

This state park is very near to silicon valley, yet you will that it is a well isolated place.
You would find less people here. Nice place to camp. If you like to spend time in very quite place, this is the place to visit. You will find varieties of Oaks here. Lot of birds .
My husband and myself camped here yesterday. Weather was great .Lot of hills and slopes throughout. It has short and medium trails.

Henry Coe is great, but be prepared for incline! My latest visit was my first time at Hunting Hollow entrance. Took Jim Donnelly Trail (a steep walk, but contoured well for the bike crowd– so not bad at all) to Steer Ridge, then came down Steer Ridge Trail– yikes! This trail is so steep it is borderline unsafe coming down. Also be warned about the heat here– I hiked on Oct 31 and it was easily in the eighties on the hillsides with sporadic shade– I can only imagine how hot summer afternoons can get here. The drive from 101 is probably 25 – 30 minutes on a winding, sometimes narrow road– be prepared for that. Parking lot is large, fee (self pay) was $ 6. There is a sign with a map, but no printed maps are available here. I saw lots of deer, talked to a biker who saw a lion, lots of evidence of tarantulas. Henry Coe is a special place– lots of wilderness so close to us!

I went hiking there just yesterday and the place was vast and eerie. It was just my boyfriend and I driving up this narrow path and the parking lot was so empty. There is a parking fee and it’s self service parking fee. When we went on the trail, we noticed there weren’t any shades. We felt like we were the only ones there at 5pm and it was scary. It was scary and eerie because I felt like there were no one in the wilderness beside my boyfriend and I. 20 minutes into the trail, we saw a family of four and the father acknowledged us and warned us to watch out for tarantulas. Then 2 minutes later, we saw a couple who was giving us a friendly greeting as passers. So the people were nice and it was good seeing people on the trail. At the same time it was really good hearing the wind and knowing you’re not surrounded by anyone, but at the same time it’s scary because you feel alone (I know it sounds like I am contradicting myself, but once you’re there, you’ll know exactly how I feel).
Along the way, I saw a trail of ants across the trail that we were using, so I had to hop over them. My boyfriend saw two lizards and when he went out to the bush to pee, as he was peeing, two spiders came out of the ground. After maybe 45 minutes-​1 hour into the hike, we left. We didn’t see any deers, coyotes nor tarantulas that other visitors had mentioned, I guess because we weren’t there for a long time.
There were a lot of little flies flying around throughout the park and it was annoying. It hit my face, almost went into my nose and it was just everywhere. I don’t know how they survive in a dry wilderness, maybe there are dead animals or dead people lying out there somewhere. The place is big! So don’t get lost and bring water with you just in case! Lots of trails. However it is beautiful, so bring friends to explore the place with you.
Oh yeah as you’re driving, there are things you should consider
1) sometimes the two way roads become one narrow road, so drive with caution.
2) around 6pm, when we left the place, the sun was bright and it beamed through the front windshield like a bright flashlight. We couldn’t do anything about this and when you’re driving, it’s really dangerous because you can’t see anything through the windshield especially with a bright sun like that.
3) as we left the place, we didn’t have reception, so we had to remember which ways to get out of the place. My boyfriend has AT&T and I have T-​Mobile and we both didn’t have cellular reception.

My boyfriend and I decided to check out this park recently. The road alone to get there is crazy with its narrow sharp turns up a steep mountain. I saw lots of quail as we drove up the mountain. When we got there, the elevation appeared to be quite high and all I could see in a distance was yellow mountains and groves of oak trees. We decided to go on a short trail but even what appeared to be a short trail was too long for us. The heat and the thin narrow trail just was too much. My boyfriend feared he or I may accidentally fall off the trail. So about halfway through, we turned back. We did not see any dear as I hoped. However, my boyfriend did see a tarantula on the road on the way out!
Pros:
–lots of trails
–helpful staff
–lots of wildlife –if you get the chance to see them
–very quiet and secluded — away from the busy city
–lots of oak trees mainly but other variety of trees as well
–river below park for recreational activities
–camping spots available
Cons:
–there are ticks, tarantulas and other critters to watch out for
–trails and roads are steep and narrow
–it is a long tedious drive to this park

Oh, I just love it when I’m the only camper at a State Park Campground!!! I had the ENTIRE campground to myself! How awesome is THAT!!!
I liked the fact that the cellphone tower was so close by: Having the cellphone tower close by allowed using my cellphone with FULL BARS; unlike other campgrounds I have visited, I would be privileged obtaining one bar~HAH!
The drawbacks about camping at this State Park are the following:
Driving over ten miles on a windy road: The sheer remoteness left me awestruck photographing panoramic views.
Dusty, bone-​dry campsites
Little to virtually NO shade
No privacy
No showers
Overall, in order enjoying camping here for a couple of days, please make sure you bring a solar shower and shower tent; solar power battery pack and solar panels; 10×10 canopy, screen tent. FYI: Bring your H2O filter because I don’t know if the ground H2O is clean or not.

Pretty strange that this doesn’t show up in the Unilocal filter. Had to manually look this up up on Google for it to show up.
Either way, came here yesterday on a beautiful Sunday and decided to give this hiking location a shot as we had never been here. It’s a huge park, and it delivers in every way you would expect it to. Nice views, a nice challenge, and plenty of different paths to take if you’re going for a hike.
We did about seven miles yesterday and while we were a bit tired at the end, it was truly worth every minute. It’s been about two months since we last went hiking, so our asses were kicked a little bit more than expected.
We didn’t find much parking, and it’s a little steeper than you would expect ($ 8), but I still felt it was worth it. The big drawback was the long winding road you have to take to get here, but besides that I really enjoyed it. Overall, a great hiking spot.

I just went to Henry Coe for the first time last weekend as part of their backcountry weekend program (
). Basically one weekend a year they open the backcountry to vehicles so you can drive deep into the park and car camp or start your backpacking trip with a 10 mile head start into the park. This event is awesome! It’s run primarily by volunteers and at the two main car camping sites they bring in amenities for the weekend — portapotties with sink stations, garbage bins, potable water. There are a bunch of day hikes led by the volunteers during the weekend and a van shuttle that transports people along the main road so you can stay at one place and get a ride to the start of a hike, or finish your hike and get a ride back to your campsite. If you’ve ever wanted to camp in the backcountry this weekend is great.
The reason I’m not giving the park 5 stars is because I think it’s just not my favorite type of habitat. It’s pretty open with hardly any shade. Most of the trails are old ranch roads — flat dirt roads — not a lot of single track trails. After hours and hours of hiking I got tired of being out in the open on these roads. It would probably be great for bike camping though.

Backpacking review:
Henry Coe may not be at the top of my personal list in terms of the most beautiful places I’ve visited backpacking (but don’t get me wrong, it has many truly beautiful things/​parts that make it 100% worth it!), but the thought/​care/​planning/​help that the staff and volunteers put into every visit with people makes it as good as you can get.
General advice: spend money on the good map, rather than the cheapo paper one, especially if backpacking. Topo maps are worth the investment, even for one trip. Plus, you are supporting your parks! …and last but not least… try not to start a forest fire. I will be very sad if you do.
Further information for backpackers/​hikers below…
Pros:
Caring rangers who double check that you have enough water before you leave
I’d say that about 4/​5ths of intersections are very well marked
Incredible website with tons of information… more than you could ever hope as a hiker/​backpacker (seriously, check this beforehand! coepark dot org)
Beautiful wildflowers
Reminders of what streams are supposed to be like if you’ve grown up in a city
Horse and mountain bike friendly depending on the trail
Tons and tons of miles of land for you to explore
Solitude, should you so desire
Pit toilets for closer campsites, if you require amenities
Potable water at the Manzanita point campsites (despite the website, there are big black tanks that say «Fill with potable water only!» Presumably, these have potable water. I wouldn’t trust anything else nearby.)
Springs for backpackers to filter water at… even if they have some fun underwater vegetation.
Wildlife, including wild turkeys (impressive in their mating displays in spring)
Freedom to camp wherever in certain parts of the park
Fishing opportunities
Information on where to expect water for filtering (see website for the est information)
Some great swimming holes, if you know where they are
Ability to check stream levels online
Website with information about wildflowers
Well managed so it is not horribly crowded– if you want solitude, the rangers will help you figure out where to go
Friendly fellow hikers/​backpackers for the most part who are happy to help
Cons:
Ticks galore
Poison oak galore
Some trail intersections do not match up easily with the free paper map
Enthusiastic mosquitoes
Coyotes
Some crazy roads that almost defy physics in terms of manageable slope (especially with a backpacking pack)…read up before you pick your route! Apparently the roads tend to be steeper than the trails.
…plus…Ticks! Yup. Lots of ticks here.
Limited campsites at certain destinations and they are essentially first-​come, first-​served
For backpacking, bring at least the following:
The usual backpacking stuff, plus–
Extra bug spray
Sunscreen
Warm sleeping clothes for night time unless you are used to sleeping in temperatures around 40 degrees fahrenheit and have a good sleeping bag
Check your sleeping spot for rocks before you bed down (common sense, but easily forgotten when you are very tired)
Shorts or very light weight/​breathable pants for daytime
Water filter plus extra water storage method (may be good if you are a day hiker too on long trips, just to have the option…)
A decent sleeping pad unless you are young and resilient and can tolerate ultra hard ground when you’re trying to go to sleep (on your side… on your back… etc.) Certain sites have ground that is less forgiving.
Supplies for cleaning/​treating tick bites– tweezers might be a good idea, plus soap/​antibiotic ointment
Friends to help check you for ticks and for adequate application of sunscreen
Understanding of your physical limitations, but a reasonable expectation to push beyond what you are comfortable with
Pro-​tips:
Best in spring for the wildflowers and cool temperatures, despite the enthusiastic presence of ticks.
Beware «the shortcut» unless you are in really good shape and/​or are not backpacking… it was brutal with all the backpacking gear and admittedly less than athletic shape. Likely more easily doable on a dayhike than with a backpacking pack.
Do your internet research beforehand to plan your route and do not rely on Henry Coe staff last minute to help you plan your trip (A staff member helped us pick our route… and our trip was beautiful and inspiring, but I was definitely on the verge of injuring myself).
Take everything slow and steady, at your pace… don’t be afraid to take breaks. Rushing through hiking really kind of misses the point of it all anyway in my opinion. Reaching your destination feels much better than getting injured by pushing yourself too hard.

This park is huge and open. Lot’s of space means lots of sun if it’s a warm day, watch out. Chaparral region is plentiful. There are trees and if you like to Kite, run or bike ride around the perimeter of a lot of space, this is really a great park for that. The rangers are friendly and helpful if you need them. The lake is not all that nice but doable if you don’t need and immediate shower kind of person ! LOL. The bathroom was «A» typical. I guess i am not all that into camping because I would try to «hold it in» until i went home rather than use the facility but that’s just me! It is gigantic and my friend and I cruised through the park at night and it was really dark, filled with trees and kind of scary cool at night.

We had a pleasant stay here this weekend.
The weather was great and they permitted us to light camp fires, which they won’t do for very much longer. Once summer starts, camp fires will be prohibited.
There is one flush toilet at the visitors’ center which is open all day and night and is fairly neat. The vault one is decent, if one can manage the stench.
It is absolutely wonderful to just sit and stare at the clear night skies in peace. During the day, birds offer some really good entertainment — we spotted a few wood peckers, some jays etc.
The rangers and volunteers are extremely friendly and make every effort to make our camping experience memorable.

Some fantastic reviews capture how amazing Henry Coe Park is. It starts with the beautiful drive deep into the mountains — along the way you will see wild turkey flocks, coyotes, deer — and you haven’t even gotten to the park yet. By the time you get there you will feel like you are far away from urban areas.
There are many challenging hikes out of the HQ entrance and the Hunting Hollow entrance which has an easier drive but is farther south, and in the summertime the Dowdy Ranch entrance in the southeast. Not for the faint of heart the trails are steep, and you will climb and descend over many ridges. There are a few shorter hikes — check out the Monument to Henry Coe, Frog Lake, and Manzanita Point.
In the spring the wildflowers are amazing. Hillsides covered with wildflowers of all types. And there are some very special ones that took me years to find in remote parts of the park — Whispering Bells, and the Most Beautiful Jewel Flower.
I’ve hiked in snow (yes, snow !), rain, blistering heat — and many times just perfect weather days. In the winter creeks are sometimes partly frozen so you get those great photographs of ice and water. Early on a spring or summer morning when the grass is damp from dew you will get the most wonderful smells. Along the road to Hunting Hollow in the fall you see great fall colors in the trees.
At the end of a day of hiking I’ve gotten memorable photographs from the parking lot of the sun going down through clouds that turn many colors.
A huge shout-​out to the Rangers of Coe! What a fantastic group of people offering great advice, and rescuing those who were not prepared for the tough hikes and extreme weather that can happen at times. They are heroes.

Nice place, but for being a huge California State Park, their bathrooms are way too small!
It gets pretty hot here in the summer and there isn’t much shade.

I came here 9 years ago so this is a long overdue review. I came here to do a report during high school for my biology class. I needed to observe some wild life and plant life and was able to do just that at Henry Coe. I saw cool mushroom, manzanita trees and some birds. There is camping available here during certain seasons.

This park is huge. Actually it is the largest state park in Northern California.
It is nice to have this park near the South Bay.
I did overnight backpacking here in the first weekend of Feb.
Started at Headquaters-​Manzanita Point-​China Hole-​Narrows-​Los Cruzeros-​Willow Ridge-​Mississippi Lake. There are three campsite along the lake. There are just a picnic table and a trash box. First-​come first-​served. However, threre are not many backpackers in this par, probably it is fine. One way is 14 miles.
I enjoyed a variety of scenery. Green undurating hills, dry bald hills, Narrows, ranch. It was in winter, little water in Narrows but after the rainy season, I heard it’s like Narrows in Zion (well not as much as there).
I will come back in spring to see flowers!

The most beautiful and peaceful state park that we can access in under 30 minutes! What a joy it is to work, live, and play in a wonderful city that has such beautiful landscape at an arms length. The drive up to the park is simply beautiful, rustic and covered in trees, it’s a real fall-​time pleasure to take. Passing by Anderson lake is an extra treat, you have an almost 360 view of the entire lake as you approach Cochrane bridge and it continues as you curve around the lake and continue up the hill.
Now the park! The volunteer staff is great and the main Ranger in charge, John, is a very helpful and knowledgeable fellow who has the pleasure of living full time at the head quarters. The small campground is very well kept and accessible to kids and adults alike. If you wish to venture into the hills and trails please do speak with park staff you are new to the Park so you have knowledge of what’s ahead. Water and proper attire is really important as the terrain and the weather can be very trying and strenuous.
All in all it’s a great perk to living in Morgan Hill!

We started at the Hunting Hollow parking lot, which is of a substantial size, although this time it was mostly taken up with equestrians as they had some sort of park-​sponsored event (the ranger was with them). Unlike (I presume) the main entrance, the maps you get here are double-​sided photocopies, meaning that when you’re finding your way while you happen to be right on the arbitrary border, you’re gonna get confused! I recommend printing your map out ahead of time.
Although we had a route (borrowed from
) planned out ahead of time, we found navigation to be a bit challenging, as the signposts never indicated what trail we were turning on to (
). Eventually I realized that this was because the trail names were supposed to be at the top of the posts, as they are in most state parks, but had been worn off! (I couldn’t be sure if it was due to the passage of time or a deliberate act). At one point there is a junction in which you can’t even tell which way to go, because both ultimately lead to the same end point!
Certainly, the vistas are nice, with the usual rolling hills one gets in this area, although I would avoid it in summer (March was probably the last month you’d really wanna try it). And for whatever reason we did see more random small wildlife, with various birds, turtles, and squirrels. But this park does for some reason seem to bear more evidence of the hard times the whole system is undergoing now.
Oh, and avoid the Steer Ridge Trail that takes you from Steer Ridge Road to the entrance, especially downhill! That tiny, windy, steep downhill trail almost killed my aging knees. :/

This place is magical. Seriously. Sunning vistas, wonderful hiking, a few close-​to-​the-​trailhead walk-​in sites, a few car camping sites, and many miles of open country for backpacking. And all just outside of San Jose.
Rolling hills, beautiful oak forests, grasslands, hidden clear lakes, stocked with fish from decades ago, in the middle of the back-​country, there’s nothing not to love. Well, the hills. Oh man, the hills. My friends and I joke that Henry Coe is the only place that it actually *is* uphill both ways.
Warning to first-​time visitors: You will see poison oak; you will see tall grasses with burrs that get caught in your socks, and legs. You will see spiders, both in the huge and harmless (tarantulas, which are adorable), and black widows, which are anything but harmless. Just pay attention to your surroundings.

I went hiking here about a month ago with my boyfriend and the park management class we were taking at West Valley.
Let me start off by saying this was an intense hike, I couldn’t exactly remember where we started but it was all up hill! My calves were killing me. However, when we had reached the top there was a picnic table and a beautiful view (perfect for some snack and water).
The walk back to the car was also beautiful as well, we saw squirrels, bambis (deers), turkeys and lots of different insects!
Overall I give this place a 4 star, not only is it easy to find, but it’s a great place to get a good hike and work out in. Definitely coming back!

Coe reminds me a lot of Western Montana. Both are very sexy places, if you find lean curves, unpredictable conditions, and sharp edges attractive. It’s not that they look the same (they don’t). They FEEL the same, and that feeling of irresistible attraction runs deep. If you don’t like to be challenged — mentally, physically, emotionally — then you might want to leave places like these to those who find solitude sensuous and who take satisfaction in such utterly unnecessary things as everyday adventure. At 87,000 acres, with a wilderness area beyond that, Coe can be a formidable place: remote, rustic, raw in its quiet intensity. It bakes in summer and freezes in winter and is exposed to extreme temperature and weather variations. Elevations rise and fall precipitously, leading you on paths that climb thousands of vertical feet in a matter of minutes and that will leave you soaking wet and sore if you are not careful.
For much of the year, Coe shows its intimidating face to the surrounding world, perched high above Morgan Hill in a coating of gold and surrounded by shimmering heat. Gazed at from the green and cooling setting of the Santa Cruz Mountains, to the West, the Diablo Range is indeed a devilish place, one that requires you to pass through a traffic hell (the dreaded I-​280/​US 101 interchange in the middle of San Jose) to get there. And that’s before 12 miles of winding one lane roads from Morgan Hill to the park’s main HQ at Pine Ridge. So people tend to leave Coe alone.
But like all natural beauties, Coe shows a tender side from time to time. And that time is usually spring, after winter rains have softened her edges and covered her hills and ridges in thick and luscious coats of pure green, dotted by splashes of pure color. The smells are intoxicating, the sounds are alluring, and the air is like pure energy, driving you to do things you scarcely thought possible. You will drive yourself for hours on end up and down her sinuous pathways, exploring with wide-​eyed and wild abandon. You’ll scale her peaks and get lost in her valleys, you’ll soak in her clear waters and sweat in full sun on her bare ridgelines, swallowing in great gulps the succulent scent of manzanitas in full bloom.
When you are finished, after 15 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain (and loss), you’ll probably stumble back to where it all started, wandering past ancient oaks and expansive green fields, parched and panting, but smiling from one end of your mouth to the other.
You will dream of Coe for days to come. You’ll recall the times you almost gave up or nearly got lost. You’ll close your eyes and see her curves stretched out for miles and miles across an impossibly distant horizon. You’ll walk for days with stiff muscles and eat and drink with enhanced pleasure, savoring the simple pleasures of ordinary life.
And, should you ever get jaded with life in Silicon Valley with all its false promises and superficial premises, should you desire the thrill of beauty in its raw and uninihbited form, you will need to seek out a place like this in which you can feel like a human being again, and know what it means to be alive.
Coe. Courageous. Outrageous. Extreme. Hard to love, impossible to forget. Rugged beauty in the enchanted eye of the breathless beholder.

We went hiking at Henry W. Coe SP because I’ve been wanting to do Mt Sizer forever & finally did it Monday 1÷16÷12 for MLK Jr Day a Holiday for me. Drive from Fremont took 1.5hrs, parking is Self Registration $ 8 per car, or $ 7 for Seniors over 62.
Started at Headquarters after using the bathroom, there’s separate men & women. Women’s is just one toilet & one sink behind the Visitor Center.
We hiked from Headquarters, to the Monument, then onto Hobbs Road, a dirt road that’s wide. Vault toilet at Frog Lake, continued on Hobbs Road, another bathroom about 1 mile further. Had to walk through a creek, but it was low flowing so just hiked to the right of it. Then there’s the very evil «The Short Cut» trail which is extreme steep & seems to be never-​ending. Finally you get to Blue Ridge Road & turn Right. There’s a bench there that even tall people can have their feet dangle from. That’s fun. Mt Sizer is another mile further, but nothing special there. No marker, & supposedly there was a Log Book years ago, we didn’t go looking for it. There’s a Transmitter, Yellow Park Boundary sign, & another sign that said «Trail» for those continuing the Loop (15mile total). We did 13 miles (out & back), but it took 9.5hrs because we hike slow & it’s a very tough hike.
I hope some hikers can do it & report back. Evil hike & not much views. Driving in & out saw 2 deers, saw some ticks on long grasses, saw lots of small birds. That’s about it.