April/May 2016 51 Henry W. Coe State Park MORGAN HILL ALTHOUGH HENRY W. COE STATE PARK, a massive 87,000-acre natural area, is less than an hour’s drive from San Jose, it feels as if it’s a world away. A mecca for hikers who like their trails steep, Coe is Northern California’s largest state park, and more than a quarter of its acreage is true wilderness—no roads, no services, no signs of civilization. Fortunately, some of the best flower displays are on easy trails within a short walk of the main entrance and visitor center. You can witness the blooms on the 3.7-mile Springs Trail/Forest Trail Loop without having to huff and puff your way up any of the park’s notorious grades. From the trailhead near park headquarters, follow Corral Trail to the first trail junction. Take the right fork and follow Springs Trail to its end. Cross two roads (Manzanita Point Road and Poverty Flat Road) and continue on Forest Trail until you reach its western end. Follow the road back from here. What you’ll see depends on whether it’s early or late in the wildflower season. You may find scattered clusters of pink shooting stars, hound’s tongue and buttercups, lush carpets of lupine and, if you’re lucky, dozens of fairy lanterns, also known as globe lily. These delicate white flowers remain in a permanent bud-like state, their creamy “globes” hanging downward, never fully opening. To do more petal-peeping, take a short side-trip on Manzanita Point Road, which runs right down the middle of the Springs/ Forest Loop. Or sign up for a free Sunday morning wildflower walk led by Coe Park docents. Check the calendar at coepark.net for dates and times. INFO: $8 parking fee; parks.ca.gov; coepark.net GETTING THERE: From Hwy. 101 in Morgan Hill, take the East Dunne Avenue exit and drive east for 13 miles to Henry W. Coe State Park headquarters. Milkmaids RANCHO CAÑADA DEL ORO OPEN SPACE PRESERVE Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve MORGAN HILL MOST SOUTH BAY RESIDENTS HAVE never heard of this lovely preserve, which opened to the public in 2004 after the Peninsula Open Space Trust saved its oak-studded hills from development. Sparing us more condos and townhouses, Rancho Cañada del Oro features a bounty of flowers—milkmaids, Indian warrior, hounds tongue, jeweled onion and shooting stars, plus the extravagant Fremont star lily with its creamy white blossoms. As spring wears on, the grasslands produce California poppies and white nemophila, the white form of the flower known as “baby blue eyes.” For a 4.3-mile loop that requires some aerobic exercise and provides lots of flower power as a reward, hike up Mayfair Ranch Trail through oak woodlands and grasslands for just over three miles, then turn right on Longwall Canyon Trail. Expect a thighpumping workout as you climb up the canyon, but you’ll arrive on top with broad views of the Santa Cruz Mountains. To finish out the loop, cut over to Serpentine Loop Trail, which crosses into Calero County Park and then leads back to your starting point. You might want to begin this trip at your computer. Download a wildflower identification brochure created especially for Rancho Cañada at openspacetrust.org/wildfloweridentification.html. INFO: No fee; openspaceauthority.org GETTING THERE: From Hwy. 101 south of San Jose, take the Bailey Avenue exit west and continue to its intersection with McKean Road. Turn left. Where McKean Road becomes Uvas Road, turn right on Casa Loma Road and follow it to the preserve on the left. Ann Marie Brown is the author of 13 California guidebooks, including “101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area.” She leads day-hikes and backpacking trips throughout the Golden State. n California Poppy SANTA TERESA COUNTY PARK FROM TOP: CAIT HUTNIK; SAM DRAKE
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2016
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