Reader Asks Walking Woman
by Rosemary Rideout

Dear Rosemary,

I just read your latest article in Out & About and want to know more about accessing the Gilroy levee trails. I will be visiting the area next month with my sons age three and seven, and that sounds like a great place for some easy hiking for us.

Incidentally, I want to take this chance to tell you how much your articles have thrilled me over the years. Actually, I live in West Sacramento, but had the lucky chance to live in San Martin for two glorious years when my husband started his career as a CHP officer. We lived in San Martin and I would look forward every evening to the golden sunsets of the hills to the east (which we lovingly named “The Hobbiton Hills,” as the Lord of the Rings movies came out when we lived there from 1999-2001). We camped at Mt. Madonna, hiked the Pinnacles, and did as much as we could during our short, career-filled time there before we joined the world of suburban parenthood back here in West Sacramento.

It was bittersweet for us to move away to be close to family as we raise our children, but it’s actually a bit more special now that we have a home-away-from home with so much still to explore for us. Of all the places California has to offer, we still prefer to “get away” to San Martin and Gilroy! We want to see all the wonderful things we missed before, and especially share them with our boys. I would be so happy if you could let me know not only how to access the levee trails, but also what other kid-friendly hikes you suggest in the area. We hope to get a pop-up trailer soon, and if you could suggest any favorite camping areas, that would be most appreciated too.

Again, thank you for your skillfully written and joyfully readable articles, and for stirring up that spark for the magical place we enjoy so much.

Anne Marzo

Good Morning, Anne,

Thank you so much for the kind words. If you’ve been away from the Gilroy, San Martin area for a while, you are in for some treats. Since you left, they have opened the Harvey Bear portion of the Coyote Lake County Park with access from the valley at the very end of San Martin Avenue east. There is a parking area there and a large two mile asphalt loop walk which people are enjoying, but also access to the hills via trails which begin there. Pick up a map at the parking lot or go online to www.parkhere.org and download a map for Coyote Lake/Harvey Bear.

There is also camping up at Coyote Lake, right along the shoreline and if you do it earlier in the season, the wildflowers should be gorgeous. I’ve yet to see it full, except after school lets out for the summer, but it is quiet again in September. You can also access the lovely trails of Harvey Bear/Coyote Lake via the Roop Road. As you drive toward the park’s official entrance for Coyote Lake Park, you’ll see parking and access up there. You can also access the trails from the campground area.

And for the nostalgia, go back to Mt. Madonna County Park to camp with your kids. If you loved it before, you’ll love it again and help the children begin a tradition of enjoying that beautiful park.

The Gilroy levee can be accessed at a couple spots. Along Santa Theresa, just south of First Street, you can catch the levee on Third Street. You can also drive into Christmas Hill Park and park there for access the levee (and all of the footpath trails I mention in my article) just above the creek crossing at Miller and from there, go either north or south. That crossing is right about the mid-way point of the levee. Going south the walk is 1.4 miles and north, you can walk a mile before it parallels Fourth Street. At the very south end, there is a brand new Gilroy Sports Park, which also has free parking and access to the levee. It is accessed at the very south end of Monterey, just before you access Highway 101.

And by all means, if you are here during the late Spring months through fall, do take the boys out for a ramble along the Uvas Reservoir. Right now access is impossible because the water level is reaching the spillway….a really good thing.

Also, there is a lovely walk between Monterey and Santa Theresa in San Martin, accessible from the Monterey side right where the bridge crosses the creek as Morgan Hill turns into San Martin. The property owners there have erected a fence to keep people from dirt biking on the hill, but you can still park there and walk parallel to the creek to a lovely old reservoir with easy access to the shores.

There you have it…lots of outdoor walks and hikes for you and your boys to enjoy. I love to see families enjoying the outdoors. It adds such a lovely, playful dimension to a family if they enjoy time together in the outdoors.

Enjoy,

Rosemary

Walking Woman loves to receive readers’ questions and would welcome hiking and outing ideas to explore and share with her readers.

	~Rosemary Rideout was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. She moved to California in 1993. She is an avid photographer. She has been enchanted by the abundance and diversity that Mother Nature offers here. She can be reached at rideout@garlic.com