Calero County Park - JAVELINA LOOP

Hike on January 9th, 2010

Photos by hiker, Patrick Kneeland WHO REALLY CAPTURED THE DAY!

Hikers at Calero County Park

Hikers at Calero Calero Calero Hikers at Calero Hikers at Calero Calero County Park
Calero County Park Cobweb Calero County Park Calero County Park Calero County Park Hikers at Calero County Park Calero Reservoir
About Calero County Park: Calero County Park is one of Santa Clara County's most diverse parks.  It is nestled in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is bounded to the south by Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserve. 

Hike Description: On this hike we will pass through oak woodland, grasslands, canyons and chaparral riparian plant communities, including Llagas Creek, the headwaters for the Pajaro River.  Near the parking area is a pasture which the horses share with wild turkeys in the morning at feeding time.  Our route will take us by the Calero Bat Inn, past several ponds in which we may see water birds, and along the shore of Calero Reservoir in which we will probably see a number of birds. 

Trails We Took: From the parking we took the Pena Trail to the Vallecito Trail and Figueroa Trail which connected us to the Javelina Loop. On the Javelina Loop Trail we passed the Fish Camp and Calero Bat Box and connected back to the Pena Trail. We finished up on the Los Cerritos Trail which looped us back to the parking lot. The complete hike was approximately 7.5 miles and took us about 3.5 hours to complete.

Horses at Calero Horses at Calero
Horses at Calero County Park
Enjoying the horses at Calero
   
Park Details and Maps
Hours: 8 a.m. to dusk

Carpool Info: Meet at 8:00 Saturday, December 8th , at St. Edward's Church for  carpooling, 15040 Union Ave., SJ.  Exit from 85 south in the middle lane, left onto Samaritan Drive, right onto Union; in one block turn left onto Ronda, and left into the parking lot.

Driving Directions to Trailhead: From Central San Jose, take Almaden Expressway south all the way to the end.  Turn right onto Harry and then left onto McKean Road (at the next light).  The entrance to the park is about four miles down McKean Road after passing the reservoir and the Bailey Avenue junction.  From Highway 101 exit on Bailey Avenue and head west until you reach McKean road.  Turn left and travel about a half mile to the park entrance on the right.  Free parking is on the right near the portable restroom about a quarter mile into the park.  There is no potable water on this hike, and there are no restrooms along the way.