New Coyote Creek Trail Undercrossing at Yerba Buena Road
New Coyote Creek Trail Undercrossing at Yerba Buena
Road
North of Tully Road, there are city parklands, part of the Coyote Creek Park Chain, on either or both sides of the creek all the way up to William Street. However, there is no continuous trail yet. There are short trail segments along Coyote Creek in the neighborhood parks along it. There is a community garden along the east side of the creek at Galveston Avenue and Tully. Wool Creek Drive runs behind Shirakawa School and the Franklin-McKinley School District headquaters follows along a loop on the west side of Coyote Creek. Rock Spring Playground is off Senter at Rock Spring and Needles a little north of there. On the east side is an undeveloped area of open space on Roberts Street that runs from Phelan Avenue to the edge of a closed of landfill. Dirt trails run through this former orchard. The longest trails are in San Jose's Kelley Park, home to the San Jose Historical Museum, Japanese Friendship Gardens, and Happy Hollow Park and Zoo. (See here for an exploratory walk from Roosevelt Park to Kelley Park.) There are old dirt farm roads running through the walnut grove at the south side of the park. Paved trails run through the developed part of the park. Kelley Park ends at Story Road.
North of Story Road is an undeveloped plot of parkland. A dirt path runs through it between the creek and a closed landfill. A maintenance road runs from this park under I-280 to partially-developed Olinder Park. A dirt road runs along the creek to the park trails at Olinder School and Community Center. A pedestrian bridge crosses the creek from Olinder Community Center to William Street Park. From William Street to Santa Clara Street, Coyote Creek runs behind private homes, so a creek trail route would have to run along city streets. North of Santa Clara Street is 10.8-acre Roosevelt Park. Park trails run along the east side of Coyote Creek. The next park to the north is 26.3-acre Watson Park. (See here for exploratory routes from Roosevelt Park to Watson Park.) Dirt trails run along the west side of Coyote Creek in Watson Park. Watson Park ends at Hwy 101.
North of 101, the creek is surrounded by private property. This is mostly an industrial area. However, the San Jose Flea Market lies along the east side of the creek betwen Mabury Road and Berryessa Road. A planned BART station for the property has prompted the owners of the Flea Market to look into developing the property. The proposed development would include trails along Coyote Creek. Penitencia Creek joins Coyote Creek near Berryessa Road. Higher up Penitencia Creek is Penitencia Creek County Park and San Jose's 720-acre Alum Rock Park. Extensions to the Penitencia Creek Trail are being planned. More industrial areas lie along Coyote Creek north of Berryessa Road, blocking public access to the creek. The next area of public land along Coyote Creek, between Hazlett Way and Old Oakland Road is in the San Jose Municipal Golf Course. However, the creek banks are generally not accessible unless you are golfing. On the other side of the creek is North Coyote Park, a mostly undeveloped park which runs along the creek for about half as far as the golf course. North of Old Oakland Road, the west bank of Coyote Creek is paralleled by Schallenberger Road, which ends at Ridder Park Drive. The creek is visible from the shoulder of Schallenberger Road. Ridder Park Drive crosses over Coyote Creek. It crosses E. Brokaw Road. Coyote Creek flows under E. Brokaw Road, then I-880. The I-880 widenng project is going on here.
Just past I-880 is O-Toole Avenue. Here, a Water District levee maintenance road follows along the west side of the creek and would make a good trail if it were open, which it has been at times. This levee road ends at Charcot Avenue and begins again on the other side. The levee roads are blocked by gates, which have sometimes been open. The road follows along a fuel distribution facility, and is interrupted by a gate and fence at the facility. A narrow footpath leads around this fence. The road continues on the other side and goes under Montague Expressway. From Montague north are wide levee roads on both sides of the creek that are easily accessible, physically at least. Whether they are legally accessible is another question, but people can commonly be seen using the levees. On the west side is a large housing complex. On the east side are a series of industrial parks.There are no fences preventing access from these facilities to the levee roads. Besides the roads on top of the levees, there are gravel roads leading down to creek level. Both sides of the creek lead to under-crossings under Tasman Drive, then Hwy 237. A pedestrian/bike path parallels Hwy 237.
The trails along Coyote Creek end at Alviso-Milpitas Road. At the west end of Alviso-Milpitas Road is a bike path leading to Zanker Road. Zanker Road can be taken to reach the Bay Trails at Alviso. Levee trails continue on both sides of Coyote Creek. However, the west side trail is currently closed due to construction. The east side is more easily accessible near the McCarthy Ranch development. The levee trail follows behind new industrial parks, an old farm, an old packing plant, farm fields, and a retired sewage treatment plant. It ends at McCarthy Ranch Road near Dixon Landing Road. A short completed segment of the Bay Trail is here. North of Dixon Landing Road, an industrial park is under construction. Beyond that is the Bay Trail along the Coyote Marsh Lagoon. Waters from Coyote Creek flow through this lagoon. The main section of the creek turns west and flows past the Alviso salt ponds, which are accessible from the Alviso Bay Trail. Shortly after it joins the Alviso Slough, Coyote Creek enters San Francisco Bay, north of the Sunnyvale Baylands.
Ron Horii, San Jose
Created 8/25/02