Alum Rock Park is located in a canyon in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose. The park offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacks climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and the North Rim Trail. The narrow floor of the canyon includes a visitor center, picnic areas, a playground, and sand volleyball pits.
Trails
Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Alum Rock Exploration
Alum Rock Park, created in 1872 as the first municipal park in California, offers ancient rocks & new geologic changes.
Alum Rock Park, created in 1872 as the first municipal park in California, offers ancient rocks & new geologic changes.
Moderate
4.0 mi/
6.4 km
6.4 km
Pigeon Gap Trail - Alum Rock Park
4.7 mile trail in Alum Rock Park, California
4.7 mile trail in Alum Rock Park, California
Moderate
4.7 mi/
7.6 km
7.6 km
North Rim Trail to Boccardo Trail at Alum Rock Park
Hike to the backcountry just beyond the popular park on southeast edge of Silicon Valley.
Hike to the backcountry just beyond the popular park on southeast edge of Silicon Valley.
Moderate
8.1 mi/
13.0 km
13.0 km
Guides
4.7 mile trail in Alum Rock Park, California
Hike to the backcountry just beyond the popular park on southeast edge of Silicon Valley.
Alum Rock Park, created in 1872 as the first municipal park in California, offers ancient rocks & new geologic changes.
Community Trips
WHEN : March 21, 2009
WHERE: Alum Rock Park
DIRECTIONS: From 680 take Mckee Road east, turn left on White Road and then right on Penitencia Creek Road. Take this road all the way into the park and park in the FIRST PARKING LOT at the entrance.
http://www.sjparks.org/Parks/RegionalParks/arp/index.asp
TRAILS: North Rim Trail > Detour to Eagle Rock > Back to North Rim Trail > Todd Quick Trail > Boccardo Loop > Weather Loop > Back to...
I'm maxed out on vacation so had to take a few days off. Time for a nice hike with my buddy Dave. We parked in the first parking lot and soon found plenty of BART trail markers, in fact the whole trail is very well marked so it is easy to follow. We decided to do the whole boccardo loop with the SE portion of the loop not being part of the official...
This is an occassional early morning hike for me. About 4.5 mile round trip. Can be done easily in less than 1.5 hours. I live just 10 minutes or so from the park. I drive up to Pigeon Gap Trail and take the trailhead down. It starts at around 800 ft and drops to 600 in .25 mile. Then it meanders till the start of South Rim Trail. There it climbs about 300...
The Boccardo Trail is adjacent to Alum Rock Park, but not part of it. The land just North of Alum Rock is owned by the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, who put in the Boccardo Trail in 2007. You access it from the Todd Quick Trail in Alum Rock - and you access THAT from the parking at the bottom of the canyon. :)Boccardo is steep and exposed. It was in...
A nice afternoon hike in Alum Rock with Bullit. Lots of uphill once you get started, then downhill pretty steeply after you reach the top. We thought it was a little odd that the very short spur trail at the peak wasn't part of the BART.
This was a brief mid-week hike from Eagle Rock Parking Lot in Alum Rock Park to take wildflower photos in Boccardo Open Space.
Alum Rock Park in San Jose is the oldest municipal park in California. It has many mineral rich springs.
This was a mid week exercise bike ride with Mike, Pat, and myself. Lots of uphill.... quick slippery down hill.
