Santa Teresa County Park is located in the Santa Teresa Hills ten miles south of downtown San Jose. This diverse 1,627 acre park, rich in history, offers spectacular views from its trails above the Almaden and Santa Clara Valleys. The secluded upland valleys of the park provide a quiet interlude for exploring the natural environment minutes away from the surrounding developed areas.
Santa Teresa County Park is located at the southern end of the Santa Teresa Hills. The park may be accessed from either Almaden Valley or Santa Clara Valley. From Santa Clara Valley, take US 101 or Highway 85 to the Bernal Road exit. Proceed west 1.3 miles on Bernal Road and cross Santa Teresa Boulevard toward the Santa Teresa Hills. Bernal Road continues past the park's Santa Teresa Golf Club, winding up into the hills. The Pueblo Day Use Area is located off Bernal Road in a small open valley in the hills.
Limited parking and trailhead access are available from Almaden Valley. From San Jose, follow Almaden Expressway until it ends. Turn right onto Harry Road, then turn left onto McKean Road. Travel approximately 1.3 miles to Fortini Road. Turn left onto Fortini Road toward the Santa Teresa Hills. At the end of Fortini Road, turn left onto San Vicente Avenue. A ten car parking area is located on the right about 500 feet from Fortini Road. Public transit is available to Santa Teresa County Park.
Santa Teresa County Park is located at the southern end of the Santa Teresa Hills. The park may be accessed from either Almaden Valley or Santa Clara Valley. From Santa Clara Valley, take US 101 or Highway 85 to the Bernal Road exit. Proceed west 1.3 miles on Bernal Road and cross Santa Teresa Boulevard toward the Santa Teresa Hills. Bernal Road continues past the park's Santa Teresa Golf Club, winding up into the hills. The Pueblo Day Use Area is located off Bernal Road in a small open valley in the hills.
Limited parking and trailhead access are available from Almaden Valley. From San Jose, follow Almaden Expressway until it ends. Turn right onto Harry Road, then turn left onto McKean Road. Travel approximately 1.3 miles to Fortini Road. Turn left onto Fortini Road toward the Santa Teresa Hills. At the end of Fortini Road, turn left onto San Vicente Avenue. A ten car parking area is located on the right about 500 feet from Fortini Road. Public transit is available to Santa Teresa County Park.
Trails
Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Stile Ranch Trail at Santa Teresa County Park
One of the best wildflower hikes in San Jose, California, is on this twisty trail at the southern edge of the city
One of the best wildflower hikes in San Jose, California, is on this twisty trail at the southern edge of the city
Moderate
2.6 mi/
4.2 km
4.2 km
Coyote Peak Loop at Santa Teresa County Park
Get a nice workout in on this trail in San Jose's popular Santa Teresa County Park
Get a nice workout in on this trail in San Jose's popular Santa Teresa County Park
Moderate
4.2 mi/
6.8 km
6.8 km
Guides
One of the best wildflower hikes in San Jose, California, is on this twisty trail at the southern edge of the city
Get a nice workout in on this trail in San Jose's popular Santa Teresa County Park
Community Trips
A quick hike around a part of STP I hadn't explored before. Nice singletrack and a side visit to STP falls which must be quite impressive just after a good amount of rain.
Another quick hike...mostly to plan a trail maintenance event on the Norred Trail, but also to look for new flowers. Trail conditions after rain the previous day weren't great. Muddy and slick. I fell once, turning off my GPS and causing the gap in the track. Still, we were rewarded with some nice turkeys, pretty flowers and an incredible rainbow!
Elaine and I went for a quick 90 minute loop. We started at the Pueblo parking area (parking fee required, but I have a free pass). To avoid the fee you could start from the Free Parking area on Bernal Road at the IBM gate. We saw lots of great flowers, including a forest of flowering manzanita trees. As we were hiking, a bicyclist passed and called out "two bobcats just ahead". ...
This is a classic, short, family friendly hike in Santa Teresa County Park. We took the Stiles Ranch trail up the hill from the Fortini Entrance, and went over the hill, passed a first canyon and a second climb, to then reach MIne Hill Trail, which we took until the junction with Fortini Trail. We hiked along the flat Fortini Trail back to the parking lot.This is a great season for hiking....
A nice loop from Fortini to Coyote Peak via Rocky Ridge with a return on Stiles. An absolutely beautiful and clear day out there today with the wind. Weather cooperated mostly, just a brief heavy shower that we just had to endure as we (Cooper is a person really ;-) ) headed up Rocky Ridge with no shelter or rain gear.The park was empty today except for a couple mountain biking that I ran...
Rocky Ridge and Coyote Peak - Santa Teresa County Park
New Almaden, California, United States
7.7 miles
7.7 miles
A quick Saturday end-of-afternoon with Sam in Santa Teresa County Park. We started at the Fortini entrance, climbed up Rocky Ridge to Coyote Peak, then down to Laurel Springs, along the Hidden Springs Trail to Mine Hill Trail, and back to Fortini trail.The Mariposa Lilies are out, mostly on the Fortini side and on Rocky Ridge. Many jewelflowers can still be found on the Fortini area.
A quick loop to see how the wildflowers are coming along... very nicely. One of my favorite loops in STP if I don't have a lot of time. Park was quiet today and the mud was surprisingly not too bad at all. Only a few sections were sandal sucking but 90% of the trail was just fine. Saw lots of bunnies on the Stiles swtichbacks in the poppies and then a large...
A nice solo hike with Roo to check out the flowers and take some pictures.
A quick hike from Stiles to Fortini to see how the flowers are doing. Poppies have started along Stiles already, looks like another banner year for them. Saw a single California Gilia along stiles as well as some fiddlenecks, goldfields, shooting stars, claytonia, lomatium and some buttercups. Not bad for January. Gotta love California for shorts and tshirt hiking in January. Trails were muddy but not terrible. Saw a Kestrel and another...
After a fun hike at Arastradero, there was still some sunlight left...and the rain hadn't started. So .. up the hill. This is a nice loop. Convenient for me since it's just a block from home. :)There's a LOT of vertical quickly at the beginning, but you get some great vistas of the park and the surroundings. The flowers were pretty amazing today. Every week something new is blooming. This week it's...
Reviews
