Joseph D Grant County Park ~ A quiet nice trail near San Jose / CA

Nice View

A quiet place near San Jose!

There are many trails near San Jose.  Nowadays some places are getting very popular such as Rancho San Antonio, Mission Peak and etc.  They are nice places, however, it is very head to find a parking space in weekends.   It was not too bad a few years ago,  we could find a space within a few blocks.  But I went there a couple times last year and this year, it is really getting worse.

A trail in Mission Peak, so many people lined up to wait for a photo at the top of the hill.  It is nice view from the top and it is nice place.  I basically like the places, but I also look for a quiet environment to relax during the hiking.

Looking for somewhere quiet

Last weekend, I was looking for a quiet place while my kids were in Japanese school.  So that, I tried a park on the way to Mt. Hamilton from San Jose.   I visited a park more than 15 years ago.  I did not remember where it is.   So I parked car at the first park on the way to Mt. Hamilton.   There is a small parking lot and I was sure that the park is not the same as where I visited before.   However, I decided to try a trail in the park.

The parking lot was next to a Lake named "Giant Lake".   I checked a big map at the trail head and found a loop.   Roughly, I felt like I would be able to finish the loop within a few hours.

The loop was Yerba Buena Trail to Canada de Pala Trail, then Los Huecos Trail.  It is about 11km (7mils).  It is a nice hill trail, there is a lot of shade near trail head, but once going up to the hills, there is no trees to block the view.  Especially on top of hills, the view is really nice. 
There are so many wild flowers along the trail and I guess it might be the best season to visit this trail.   Some of portion is a bit steep, but overall, it is not really hilly.   I felt it is also a good trail to run.

Many flowers!

Overall, the trail is very quiet.  Very small section of trail is along CA-130, therefore, I can hear some sounds for cars and motor cycles.  However, once the trail away from the road, it is very quiet and not many people on the trail.   I saw only a several people during this hiking.

Although the parking lot is small,  however, if people go there a bit early such as before 10 am, I guess it might be easy to get a parking space.   Next to Giant Lake is one of parking lots.  However, there is another parking lot toward Mt.Hamilton.   I think the second parking lot was the one where I visited more than 15 years ago.   

This park is about 30 minutes driving from San Jose and the park was not crowded like Mission Peak.  It is really quiet place where people can enjoy nice hiking near San Jose area.