Alamitos Creek flows from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Azul down into Almaden Valley, where it meets Arroyo Calero, then the two continue north to drain into Almaden Lake. Although the creek may look mild and gentle most of the year, heavy winter storms created chronic flooding in Almaden Valley until the Santa Clara Water District widened the creekbed and installed levees in the 1970s. Los Alamitos Creek Trail, a paved multi-use path, is a joint effort between the City of San Jose and the Santa Clara Water District. The broad path begins at Almaden Lake and heads south, following along the banks of the creek. Initially the trail skirts some housing developments, then it crosses the creek and runs parallel to Camden Avenue. Los Alamitos Creek Trail eventually abandons a roadside course and takes a final path along Calero and Santa Teresa Creeks, ending at Fortini Road and Santa Teresa County Park.
     Hikers who prefer challenging dirt paths will quickly tire of the flat paved trail, but locals make good use of Los Alamitos Creek Trail, for dog-walking, jogging, daily strolls, and fitness training on the trailside paracourse. Almaden Valley, despite the press of civilization from San Jose, still is horse ranch country, and Los Alamitos Creek Trail gets a steady stream of equestrian traffic. Cyclists can use Los Alamitos Creek Trail as an expressway to Santa Teresa County Park, or even Almaden Quicksilver County Park (although this entails a short ride on city streets). If you take public transportation (San Jose Light Rail or bus) to the trailhead at Almaden Lake you can avoid paying a parking fee, and even take (in summer) an after-ride/hike swim.
      Start at the western parking lot and began walking on a paved path. You'll pass the swim beach and some picnic areas as you walk through the nicely manicured park. Just past a pretty line of peppertrees, a small path departs on the right, heading a short distance to a grassy hilltop. Continue straight on the paved path, then turn left and cross a bridge. At the end of the bridge turn right and at 0.35 mile, the path morphs into the signed Los Alamitos Creek Trail.
     The creek, downslope on the right, winds through a tangle of willow, fennel, and blackberry. Oaks, sycamore, and peppertree shade the trail, while wild rose, toyon, coyote brush, and blue elderberry occupy the understory. Los Alamitos Creek Trail reaches a housing development, on the left. The path passes a huge old sycamore tree which tosses leaves to the ground in autumn, and dips under a bridge (an alternate route for horses veers left). One of the several interpretive panels you'll encounter on your walk shows Los Alamitos Creek Trail's route, and explains how the Santa Clara Water District shifted the creek's course to prevent flooding. Although there are more houses not far away on the right side of creek, direct your gaze over them for nice views of the hills of Almaden Quicksilver and, further west, the Sierra Azul. A dirt path for horses departs on the left, and runs a short distance from the paved trail. This nice alternate rejoins the main trail before long, but first draws close to a grassy hillside where you might see deer. A cottontail scurried underneath shrubs of coyote brush on my visit, attempting to evade a redtail hawk. You might notice that a portion of the hillside on the left is dominated by California sagebrush and black sage, two aromatic shrubs also found in profusion at nearby Santa Teresa County Park. The dirt and paved paths merge again and the two run together along the side of another housing development. Look uphill to the left for huge boulders on the hills above the neighborhood; although historically this area was cow pasture, in the late 1940's large scale rock removal was commonplace (if you continue walking past the Camden Avenue bridge you'll cross a street named Graystone). Almaden Lake was created by filling an old quarry. Los Alamitos Creek Trail turns away from the houses and winds through some sycamores and a picnic area. Squirrels are common here. The trail takes a straight tack through an open area, then crosses the creek on a sturdy bridge and reaches the Camden Avenue Trailhead at 1.95 miles. From a bench facing the creek (a nice spot for a rest break), you might see egret, ducks, and heron in the creek. This is the turn-around point for this hike. The trail continues along the creek, but the next stretch follows close to Camden Avenue, and some visitors (including me) may consider this section of Los Alamitos Creek Trail more sidewalk than trail. Retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Total distance: 3.90 miles
Last visit: Wednesday, November 28, 2001


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