Coyote Ridge Loop
Hike Review
I hiked a loop after parking at south of the Stevens Creek Reservoir by hiking the Lookout Trail, Vista Loop Trail, Coyote Ridge Trail, and Tony Look Trail.
The trails in Stevens Creek County Park, Lookout Trail and Tony Look Trail were well maintained single track trails with lots of shade and vegetation. The views of the reservoir were fantastic and the trails were free of trash and feces.
The trails in Fremont Older, Vista Loop Trail and Coyote Ridge Trail were multi-use fire roads that are popular with hikers, horses, and gravel bikers. The views of San Jose were spectacular (especially with all the clouds that were around before noon). However, the lack of shade, and the abundant amount of horse dung were not to great.
All trails I hiked today were decently popular with people of all ages. I thought it was especially interesting how popular Tony Look Trail was with runners, given the thorny vegetation that lined the trail.
The reservoir was nearly full, which lent to its beauty.
The highpoint of the loop, Maisie’s Peak, was worth the short detour from Coyote Ridge Trail.
I parked on the side of a public road and hiked through an unopened parking lot. I found it funny that the public bathroom was open. When I passed by the parking lot on the way back, I saw that they had opened the parking lot. The bathroom was clean and well stocked.
What I Learned
I hiked the trail with a Rokinon 12mm MF lens that I bought for astrophotography as a challenge. It turned out to be not a challenge at all given how well the lens worked to capture the amazing vistas of this park. I mean, I did have to adjust to shooting everything manually and I may have missed a few shots due to incorrect settings, but no one has to know about that. While the lens worked well enough, I did miss the Fuji colors and the sharpness that comes with the first party lens.
This hike wasn’t my first or even my third choice, but given the time constraints that I had, I picked this on a whim. I was surprised at how photogenic this trail was and once again, know that I know nothing.
I brought about 1.5L of water, which I finished on this pretty short hike. Of note, I had a frozen water bottle, which melted as I hiked along. The cold water was refreshing and kept me cool for the entire hike.
I felt really good while hiking today. Whether it was the cooler than average June weather, the ice water, the awesome audiobook, or just better health, this hike felt easy. Too easy.
Media Consumed
Brave the Wild River
What Happened?
6.7 miles, 2 hrs 38 mins, 1448 ft of ascent
I needed to sleep in, so I had a late start. Given that I had dinner plans that came up suddenly (catching up with some old friends I hadn’t seen in years), I decided to hike something shorter than the hike to Mt. Sombroso that I thought I was going to do today. So, I searched for a trail I hadn’t hiked that was less than 10 miles and found this loop.
I had hiked to Maisie’s Peak before, so the first part of the trail wasn’t new. However everything else was, and I was surprised for multiple reasons. First, Coyote Ridge Trail offers wonderful views of San Jose through out the entire ridge portion of the hike. Given how clear the sky was today, it made for a picturesque hike. Second, the Tony Look trail was just so beautiful. I thought it’d be a not-often-used trail with thorny bushes everywhere and middling views, but instead, it was a trail trail which hugged the reservoir and did its best to exhibit the beauty of it. There were kayakers, fishermen, SUPs, geese, and other smaller wildlife; trees that were completely submerged; clear water that looked way too inviting; uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains; and so much more.
My expectations were low, but the trail delivered wonderful surprises at almost every corner. I will definitely revisit this park and trails again as I would like to share its beauty with my friends.
