Henry Coe State Park Ride Report
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We had hear lots of things about Coe being tough before our first ride there. We were young (well, younger than now) and foolish, so we gave it a try. With good weather in January, we decided it would be the idea time to ride Coe before the weather got too hot.
Coe is a large park containing over 81,000 acres in the hills to the south of San Jose. The park provides a set of bicycle guidelines that provide some useful park-specific guidelines. Be sure to bring water, especially in the summer, as there is no potable water in the park and it can get very hot out there. It is a good idea to stop at the ranger station at headquarters and get the free map (the well printed detailed map is even better) if you haven't been there before. The rangers are pretty friendly and will give you good advice for your ride. Rides can start at either park headquarters or the Hunting Hollow parking area (not staffed).
Headquarters
If you start at park headquarters, the ride starts out with an easy ride out on Hobbs Road (a fire road) followed by the first hill that climbs up a 13% grade for about a half mile. This is immediately followed by an equally steep downhill where you give up all the elevation gained and then some. This is followed by another climb where you have to earn the elevation back and then some more. Over time we have become smarter. We discovered that Flat Frog is a better way to get there, but the price of wisdom was riding Hobbs several times. The Flat Frog trail head is just behind one of the few directional signs after the left turn up the hill for Hobbs.
At the top of Hobbs turn onto Middle Ridge trail. This is a very nice downhill singletrack that traverses open grasslands, forests, and canyons. It is relatively gentle in some places, but steep in others. It is a lot of fun! Most of it was not too technical in terms of rocks and roots, but there was enough steep downhills and off camber portions to enough to keep the ride interesting. Keep your eyes open for poision oak and avoid the ticks that are prevalent at some times of the year.
The bottom of Middle Ridge connects to Poverty Flat Road. At this point, the trail crosses Coyote Creek...3 times in about 250 yards! I suppose this would be very refreshing in the summer, but it was not strictly necessary in January. Continue along Poverty Flat road up and over a hill to Los Cruzeros (a good spot for a break) and up Mahoney Meadows road. If you tire of riding the fire road, detour onto the rarely used Lost Spring singletrack (watch for poison oak on this trail). This is a very pleasent diversion that merged back onto Mahoney Meadows at the China Hole trail.
If you are tired at this point (and who could blame you), start heading back toward park headquarters on the China Hole trail. You may see evidence of wild pigs - mud holes, chewed up fields, and lots of footprints - but they are rarely seen. After some of the climbing, the long downhill to China Hole is great! This is a fun trail that goes all the way back down to Coyote Creek. The creek can be deep here (if there is water in the creek), so you may need to carry your bike across. After enjoying the view for a few minutes, it is time to head back.
The first time you do this ride you won't realize how large a hill you're going to have to climb. It is uphill all the way back to park headquarters...about 5 miles and 1800 feet of climbing! This does not sound so bad, but it feels much worse after all the riding you have already done to this point. This singletrack was an interesting change from forest near the creek, to chapparal on the hillside, and back into oak forest.
The top of the China Hole trail merges onto Manzanita. This takes you back to headquarters, but there is still a bit of distance involved. Use your energy wisely.
On another ride, we rode up Poverty Flat back to Manzanita. This was a big mistake. It was steep and covered in about 6 inches of dust. Between the steep grade and lots of dust in the air, there were several hike-a-bike sections. We have agreed that we won't do this again.
Hunting Hollow
Another popular point to enter the park is from the Hunting Hollow entrance. I think more mountain bikers start their rides here than at park headquarters. Park at Hunting Hollow and rode up the Gilroy Hot Springs Road to the Coyote Creek entrance. Coit Road takes you up the hill. A popular route to the top is Woodchopper, Anza, and Jackson trails. These trails involve quite a bit of climbing. There is a nice meadow at the top of Jackson which is a good point for a rest after the climb. After a quick recovery, you can explore up Elderberry and Rock Tower to Wasno Road and Kelly Lake Trail to Kelly Lake. Ride up Coit Road and Willow Ridge Road to Cross Canyon, a small singletrack on the left. This is a nice descent into the canyon and along (down the center of, actually) of the creek that runs through the bottom. This creekbed is very rocky but a bit of fun. Then it is time to pay the piper with the climb up and out of the canyon. The climb out is rewarded with a fast, fun descent on Grapevine. If you are tired, you can head back on Anza and Coit Road, but there are many more trails to be explored from the Hunting Hollow entrance.
Rather than head up Woodchopper/Anza/Jackson and spend most of your energy on the first hill, you can stay on Coit Road to the top. This is a more gradual climb and seems more popular with many of the riders. There are several roads and trails that connect into Coit Road, so there are lots of possibilities. I have connected to Wasno Road, a fire road that runs along the ridge line. From here, Tule Pond is a nice single track descent to the pond, which is a good place for a snack (look for turtles on the log in the pond). After a short ride up Grizzly Gulch, connect into Serpentine on the right, a steep singletrack heading up to the summit of Willson Peak. Serpentine will probably require a bit of hike-a-bike for all but the strongest riders. A short ride on Steer Ridge will get you to Middle Steer Ridge, a steep but fun single track that takes you all the way from the summit to the bottom very quickly (1600 feet in 2.5 miles). This puts you on Hunting Hollow Road and a short ride back to the parking lot. The trail crosses the creek several times here, so it is quite possible you will get wet.
General
Here are some suggestions about riding a Coe:
- Start early. This gets you back in time in the winter and it is cooler in summer.
- Don't get out too far. Don't overestimate your endurance, don't "do it" because your buddies are doing it, and don't try to show off. It is a long way back to the starting point.
- Bring all the water you can carry. Its heavy, but it is better than not having it. You will use it all.
- Make sure you will have enough energy to make it. Bring something to eat.
- Buy a map at headquarters. Bring it and use it.
- Be prepared for...whatever. You will have a crash, a flat, a mechanical, a bee sting. You'll be a long way from anything, so be prepared.
- Don't ride here by yourself the first time. It is a large and remote park. Besides, this will allow you to stop an blame it on the other guy.
- Stay on the trail unless you like ticks. There are lots of them in the grass. You may also want to keep your eyes open for poison oak.
The "concensus" rule-of-thumb is to multiply distance and ascent by 2 at Coe. Works for me! Plan accordingly.