After four years and nearly 200 “Getting Out” columns, I sometimes allow myself to believe I have a solid handle on the hiking options in Santa Clara County. As it turns out, there was a big hole in my knowledge, and it was right under my nose.
Hikers seek solitude and beauty, a combination that can mean an hour’s drive or more to escape our densely populated cities. It is a rare treat to find a place with true solitude and beauty just minutes from your door. Rosendin Park is such a place.
Rosendin Park is a portion of Anderson Lake County Park and the lands that surround Anderson Reservoir in Morgan Hill. The park extends from the north end of Holiday Lake Estates to where the ridge dips down toward the lake and Anderson Dam. The way the park is nestled beyond the homes and bounded on two sides by the reservoir, a walker rarely sees another structure. I hiked all the trails, and every moment was peaceful and quiet. Just steps from my car, I was totally alone, and I felt like I was many miles from home.
There are two entrances, one at each end of the park: the boat launch ramp near the dam ($6 day-use fee), or at the very end of Holiday Drive (no fee). As I walked the trails, I was amazed by the variety of habitats, the views, the sense of remoteness and the flowers. Just inside the south entrance is an open oak-studded grassland that drops down to a pond, where several tom turkeys strutted with unfurled tail feathers hoping to impress the ladies. I turned toward Anderson Lake, and as I traversed its shore, there was no other sign of life, just the lake and the spring-green hills leaping up toward Coe Park.
And what a variety of flowers. Purple-blue vetch filled the grasslands, while poppies, tidy tips, linanthus, Chinese houses, cream cups and blue-eyed grass decorated the trail, sometimes in impressive displays. At the highest point near the north end of the park, there is a sweeping view up the Santa Clara Valley and beyond the lake toward Mt. Hamilton.
Sometimes a hike means leaving town for a great adventure, but often we just don’t have that much time. More than any place I know, Rosendin Park offers a big adventure experience right at the edge of town.
MARK THE CALENDAR
Make a note to attend the Coyote Valley Family Farm Fest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 11. There will be food, entertainment and your first chance to see the new 348-acre Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve on Palm Avenue in Coyote Valley. Visit openspaceauthority.org to learn more and register. … The fourth hike in preparation for our July 13 appointment with beautiful Clouds Rest in Yosemite will take place May 4. Originally, I planned this hike out of Henry Coe State Park’s Hunting Hollow entrance, but because of a conflicting event there, we will instead meet at Harvey Bear County Park’s Mendoza Ranch entrance. The full loop along the Coyote Ridge and Calaveras Trails is 10.2 miles, but you may turn back or create a shorter loop. The Mendoza Ranch entrance is up Roop Road on the way to Coyote Reservoir. There is no day-use fee, and dogs on a leash are welcome. See you there at 9 a.m., rain or shine.
