Links:

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens:

Part 1:  Central - Coleman Road to the Arena Green

Part 2:  South -  Santa Clara Street to I-280

Part 3: North - Guadalupe Gardens to  I-880

The Guadalupe River Trail: I-880 to Hwy 101
The Guadalupe River Trail: Hwy 101 to Alviso

Los Alamitos Creek Trail

San Jose Parks

Guadalupe River Trail

Guadalupe Creek Trail

Bay Area Biking

Bay Trail

Bay Area Parks

Bay Area Back Pages
SF Bay Rec & Travel

Guadalupe River Trail
I-880 to Hwy 101
The newest section of the Guadalupe River Trail, from I-880 to Hwy 101, opened in January 2008. It is only 1.7 miles long, but it is very critical in that it joins two isolated trail segments into one long trail, from downtown San Jose to San Francisco Bay. It begins at the north end of the Guadalupe River Park (see Part 3: North-Guadalupe Gardens to I-880) and joins up with the already-existing trail north of Hwy 101 (see The Guadalupe River Trail: Hwy 101 to Alviso).  The trail surface itself has been in existence for some time, as levee service roads along the river bank. To make these usable as a safe trail system required building undercrossings for the trail at the roads crossing the river. These roads service the airport, so they are very busy. Busiest of all is Hwy 101.  Below are pictures and descriptions of this new trail trail section.

Note that this is in an area that is undergoing extensive development, so is subject to changes and closures due to construction, as well as closures due to weather and water levels.
<>

At the north end of the Guadalupe River Park, the trail goes under I-880, very close to river level.  This is likely to be underwater during heavy rains. The trail rises up to the levee trail.
 

On the other side of the undercrossing, from the top of the levee, looking across the Guadalupe River, you can see a trail on the east bank (currently not open) and Hwy 87.

From here on, the trail is a straight hard-packed gravel levee service road, paralleling Airport Blvd. and Mineta San Jose International Airport. The river is far below except at the undercrossings. Future plans call for paving the trail.

The trail runs close to Airport Blvd. You can see the planes and airport buildings. Above is Terminal C, with terminals B and A beyond.
After awhile, the trail reaches the Skyport Drive undercrossing. There are no access ramps from the trail to the road.

This is a view of the Skyport Drive bridge from the undercrossing.  The trail is close to the river level, so may be flooded in high water. The closed trail on the east side of the river also goes under the bridge.


The trail passes by the airport terminals. Above is the new Terminal B, under construction.


The trail reaches a paved section near Airport Parkway. It splits into two. One route goes under Airport Parkway and continues on the west bank of the river. The other crosses Airport Blvd.  to reach the trail on the east bank. Both routes will be shown below.

Airport Parkway undercrossing.
The safest way to reach the east bank trail is to cross under Airport Parkway and cross over on the north side of the bridge, which has a separated 2-lane walkway/bikeway.
On the south side of Airport Parkway, the trail is closed (as of this writing), so the trail cannot be reached from the south side of the Airport Parkway bridge without crossing the street.
On the north side of Airport Blvd., the trail is open on the east bank of the river, next to Hwy 87.  It is paved for a short distance.
The trail is a wide dirt service road, which may be soft and rutted after the rains and construction traffic. This will be paved in the future.


On the other side of the river is the airport's terminal A short-term parking lot.


The trail continues through a gate as it approaches the rental car parking lot.
The trail widens out as it passes by the rental car parking lot. Ahead is the undercrossing, which will be shown below.


Going back to the Airport Parkway Bridge, this is the trail on the west back of the Guadalupe River. It is hard-packed gravel, so it is a firmer and dryer surface than the east side, at this time, so may be a better route in wet weather.

The west bank trail ends at the bridge to the rental car parking lot


To continue on the trail, cross the bridge. There are sidewalks, but no bike lanes on the narrow 2-lane bridge, so be careful crossing it.

This a view looking south down the east bank trail, next to the rental car parking lot.


The trail goes under the rental car parking lot bridge, running close to the river.


A short distance beyond is the Hwy 101 undercrossing.


Looking across to the west bank, there are only rocks, no trail.


The trail rises up to on a long ramp to the top of the levee on the north side of 101.


Looking back at the Hwy 101 undercrossing.


Looking north, the trail runs on both side of the river, but only the east side goes under 101. Both sides go all the way to Alviso. The east side is in San Jose. The west side is mostly in Santa Clara. For more on this section, see the Guadalupe River Trail: Hwy 101 to Alviso.

 Created by Ronald Horii 1/20/08. Photographed 1/19-20/08.