Hunting
Hollow Trailhead,
Henry W. Coe State Park,
California State Parks,
Santa Clara County
In brief:
7.2 mile out and back at the Hunting Hollow section of the park. Very good wildflower
displays in spring.
Getting there:
From US 101 in Santa Clara County, exit Leavesley. Drive east about 1.8 miles
to the junction with New Avenue and turn left (you'll be following the brown
parks signs for Coyote Lake County Park). Drive about 0.5 mile and turn right
on Roop Road, then continue about 6.5 miles (past Coyote Lake) to the signed
Hunting Hollow Trailhead on the right side of the road.
Trailhead details:
Large dirt parking lot. Two pit toilets. No drinking water. $4 entrance fee
per vehicle (there's a $5 day use fee at the park's main entrance). There are
two good maps under glass at the information signboard, but on my visit there
were no paper maps available. No designated handicapped parking, and trails
are not wheelchair accessible. There is no direct public transportation to this
trailhead.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phone, stores, and restaurants back on Leavesley in Gilroy. The park
has extensive backcountry camping options, and a small, developed campground
at the park headquarters area.
Rules:
Most trails are multi-use. Some restrict bikes. From the Coe Parks website:
"Dogs are not allowed on any of the hiking roads or trails, but the headquarters
area has about a half mile of paved roads where dogs are allowed and it has
a lovely, shady half-mile trail between the Visitor Center and the entrance
parking lot where you can take your dog for a walk. Dogs must be kept on a leash
at all times, and the leash must be no longer than 6 feet."
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 7.2 mile out and back hike is one of the park's easiest, with only
about 300 feet in elevation change. Coe is a huge park with some very tough
hikes. Beware of some exceptionally steep trails that depart from this trailhead:
you really need a good map if you plan on setting off into unknown territory.
The Official Story:
Coe Park website (don't
even bother with CSP's page; this website is excellent).
Park office 408-779-2728
Map choices and more info:
• Use AAA's Monterey Bay Region map to get there.
• Order the Pine Ridge Association's excellent trail map: send $7.00 (or
$10.25 for the plastic version) to Pine Ridge Association/Map Request 9100 East
Dunne Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037
• Coe Parks site has a useful
map to get to the trailhead.
• Bill Levey's website has a detailed
map (also see page
two and page
three) of this hike, as well as a simple
map with great map links for springs info.
• The Buddha-nature
maps and books Coe site has an extensive catalog of gorgeous park photos,
and lots of other info.
• 
South
Bay Trails, by Jean Rusmore, Betsy Crowder, and Frances Spangle (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and trail descriptions.
• View photos from this hike.
Do you know Coe? 
Serious
bay area hikers and backpackers will listen carefully when this question is
uttered in their presence. The uninitiated or indifferent might respond with
an echoing question of "what," "where," or even "who?"
Some non-hikers realize it's a park, but confuse it with one of the other south
bay "name" parks such as Joseph Grant or Ed Levin. A former Coe employee
and park volunteer says more common blunders are to confuse Henry Coe with Henry
Cowell (although the parks are many miles apart, the names are similiar), and
to mistake Lake Anderson for Coe, as the road to Coe passes by that county park.
Coe veterans will regale listeners with tales of frog and coyote serenades,
star-filled night skies, and week long backpacking expeditions. Other outdoor
fanatics just don't know about the toughest, largest park in the bay area. Coe,
with 80,000 acres (the biggest state park in northern California), became part
of the state park system in 1958. The park is former ranch land, and many trails
are old ranch roads. Most people visit the park headquarters (about 8.5 miles
north of the Hunting Hollow Trailhead), reached by East Dunne Avenue near Morgan
Hill. The park headquarters trailhead 
offers
a visitor center with bookstore and history exhibits, car camping, and access
to the park's most popular dayhiking and backpacking trails.
Numerous ponds, springs, creeks, and swimming
holes throughout the park provide fishing opportunities and the chance to cool
off on a hot day. China Hole, Coe's most popular swimming hole, is the halfway
point on a 10-mile loop on Madrone Springs and China Hole Trails. Other day
hikes beginning at headquarters feature views of the Santa Clara valley and
the Santa Cruz Mountains, groves of ponderosa pines, gigantic manzanitas, oak-studded
hillsides, and Sada Coe's monument to her father. Hike possibilities are nearly
limitless at Coe; there's a book's worth of material here, but lacking that
your best bet is to obtain the park map and start exploring.
The Hunting Hollow Trailhead has few amenities,
but provides ample parking and 24 hour access. Hunting Hollow Road is almost
perfectly flat and is a good, easy introduction to Coe. Since it's an out-and-back
hike, it's suitable for kids or older folks: just turn 
around
when you get tired. If you seek a long challenging hike, or a backpacking excursion,
you can begin either at Hunting Hollow Trailhead as well. There's a 8-mile loop
to Willson Peak that climbs from about 900 to 2651 feet, combining Lyman Willson
Ridge Trail and Steer Ridge Road/Trail. Unless you plan the simplest hike (out
and back on Hunting Hollow Road) make sure to bring plenty of water, and obtain
a map in advance. When I visited there were no maps at the trailhead, and as
many trails are unmarked, you risk the very real possibility of getting lost
in this vast wilderness.
Spring is the peak season to visit. If you like colorful
landscapes, wildflowers are bountiful in late winter and spring, and in autumn
the leaves of deciduous oaks are conspicuous. Coe gets pretty hot in the summer.
If you visit Hunting Hollow in winter or spring, wear waterproof boots; Hunting
Hollow Road crosses the creek every chance it gets (the park website says 18
times, but I didn't bother to count). At most crossings you'll can hop across
on strategically placed rocks, but the water can be deep enough to reach your
ankles if you must trudge through (and it's cold).
Start at the east end of the parking lot.
Walk around a gate onto Hunting Hollow Road, a broad, dirt trail open
to hikers, equestrians, and cyclists. Right 
away
you'll encounter your first creek crossing. An easy to miss junction with Steer
Ridge Trail is on the left. Sycamore trees line the creek, and their leaves
litter the ground at most crossings. Once on the other side of the creek, you'll
pass through the first meadow, which in late winter may be dotted with popcorn
flowers, baby blue eyes, and fiddlenecks. Rolling hills, dotted with coast live
and deciduous oaks, creep uphill to the north. On the right side of the trail,
you might see lots and lots of gooseberry, as well as California coffeeberry
and snowberry. As you pass through this broad valley, Hunting Hollow Trail settles
on a theme: cross a creek then bisect a meadow. Rinse and repeat. The grade
remains almost completely flat. At about 0.76 mile, at a signed junction, a
trail departs towards Camp Willson on the left side of the trail. Continue
on Hunting Hollow Road.
A windmill sits off to the right side of the
trail just past the junction. This grassland has been infested with yellow star
thistle, and the park seems to be combating the weed by mowing some meadows.
Spring's fresh green grass is augmented by lots of wildflowers, including
great patches of baby blue-eyes, creamcups, fiddlenecks, popcorn flowers, redmaids,
johnny-jump-up, and johnnytuck. Squirrels have constructed elaborate burrows
under oaks and across the meadows, so you will probably see plenty of the scampering
bushy tailed animals near these colonies. Look in the dirt for deer, coyote,
and bobcat tracks, and be aware that wild pigs are sometimes spotted as well.
At about 1.8 miles (I'm guessing, because I didn't have a map and wasn't sure
where I was), a well-worn path heads uphill to the left. The junction is unmarked,
but the trail is a viable one, climbing to Phegley Ridge. If you happen to be
hiking in spring, you might climb a few feet up the trail, and look to see what
flowers are blooming. On my visit in late winter, there were lots of johnny-jump-ups,
the first blue-eyed grasses of the year, and the tail end of the shooting stars'
bloom. These shooting stars are Padre's shooting stars, different from the more
common bay area mosquito bills. Padre's have light colored stems, while mosquito
bills' are purplish. When ready, continue on Hunting Hollow Road.
The hills begin to close in on the road, squeezing
a broad valley into a canyon. In late winter, there are extravagant displays
of shooting stars on the sides of the trail. Hunting Hollow Road begins a slight
ascent. During the rainy season, look for a tiny waterfall and pool on the left
side of the road. California bay trees mix in with oaks. At about 3.6 miles,
Hunting Hollow meets Wagon Road at a signed junction. Hunting Hollow actually
continues straight to the park boundary, but this is the turnaround point for
this hike. (Option: take Wagon Road uphill to Phegley Ridge Road, and then descend
to Hunting Hollow Road on Phegley Ridge Trail. This extension will add about
2.5 miles to your day, and involves an over 1000 foot ascent.)You're likely
to hear frogs croaking melodically from the nearby creek, and as I sat and rested
I repeatedly heard gobbling from wild turkeys in the surrounding hills. When
you're ready, retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: about 7.2 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
Hunting
Hollow Trailhead,
