About Stevens Creek County Park: First established in 1924, Stevens Creek Park is the oldest of the Santa Clara County parks. The park, now 1,042 acres including the 93 acre reservoir, offers a great variety of plant communities which reflect the differences in topography, moisture availability, and orientation to the sun. Similarly, wildlife diversity in the park is highly due to the diversity of habitat. It is also a very popular birding location, with over 125 species having been recorded to date. Stevens Creek dam was built by the WPA in 1936 and seismically reinforced in the 1980s.

Hike Description: We'll start the hike from the main parking lot, which is the first one after entering the park road. We'll be making a loop starting with a climb up the Coyote Ridge trail up the canyon into the Fremont Older Open Space Preserve where we'll have magnificent views of San Francisco Bay, Mt. Diablo, and the Santa Clara Valley. The Coyote Ridge trail will take us to Maisie's Peak, the highest point in Fremont Older Open Space and named for the late Maisie Garrod, matriarch of the family that now owns and operates Garrod Farms, which is adjacent to the Fremont Older Open Space,

We'll return via the Lookout trail which will take us to the Madrone Picnic area where we'll stop for a snack. We'll then continue our return via the Tony Look trail through chapparral hillsides and wooded canyons along the east perimeter of the reservoir, past Stevens Creek dam and spillway, and back to the parking lot along the creek trail.

Elevation and Length: Elevation approx. 1200 feet. This hike was is approximately 7 miles in length and take us about three and half hours. Bring a snack to eat at the Madrone picnic area.

Directions to Trail Head: Note: We will be starting the hike at the big parking lot just after entering at the North Park Entrance. The entrance to the park is located along Stevens Canyon Road and Mt. Eden Road in the foothills between Saratoga and Cupertino. Parking is $6.00.

From 280: Take Interstate Highway 280 to Foothill Expressway. Follow Foothill Blvd. west three miles to the northern park entrance (Foothill Blvd. changes into Stevens Canyon Road as it crosses McClellan Road). The park entrance is on the left (

From 85 take the Stevens Creek exit and turn left. Make a left on Foothill Expressway which will turn into Stevens Canyon Road. Follow Foothill Blvd. west three miles to the northern park entrance on the left:
Details & Distance.

1. From 85 take Stevens Creek exit
2. Turn LEFT onto STEVENS CREEK BLVD. 1.1 mi
3. Turn LEFT onto S FOOTHILL BLVD. 0.5 MI
4. S FOOTHILL BLVD becomes STEVENS CANYON RD. 0.7 mi
5. The park, 11401 STEVENS CANYON RD, is on the LEFT.
RSVP Guidelines: If you RSVP “yes,” please be sure to attend. If you are later unable to attend, please change your RSVP to “no” so the hike leader knows how many will be attending. We will organize a waiting list if the group becomes full. If there’s a cancellation, the spot will go to the first member on the waiting list.