Hunting Hollow Willson Peak 12.7 Miles Difficult Hike

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Summary: Please join us for this challenging hike from the Hunting Hollow entrance of Henry Coe State Park. Enjoy the panoramic views from the ridge top where you can see the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west, and on a clear day, you can see the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east. You can view the historic buildings of Gilroy Hot Springs across the canyon 9-10 miles into the hike.

Level: Difficult
Total Distance: 12.7 miles round-trip (loop)
Hiking Time: 6 hours
Elevation Gain: 2,677 feet
Facilities: Portable toilets at trailhead/parking lot, Willson Camp, and on Grizzly Gulch Trail
Sleep Late and Hike Dog Policy: No Dogs. Learn more:
https://www.sleeplateandhike.com/tutorials/sleep-late-and-hike-dog-policy/

Breaks: We will take a snack/lunch break about halfway through and short breaks as needed

Please read our tutorial for hiking in the sun:
https://www.sleeplateandhike.com/tutorials-how-to-hike-in-the-sun/

Recommended Map:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/561/files/HH%20Hiking%20Map%202017.pdf

GPS Coordinates for meeting place:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7ydMpUkXvGpQk2Qt6?g_st=im

Degrees Decimal Format for Google Maps:
37.075962, -121.466490

Street address: 4826 Gilroy Hot Springs, Gilroy, CA 95020

Getting there:

Please use the Google maps link at the top to plan your own route from your home. And, download the PDF map below onto your phone before you start, or print it out.

NOTE: If possible, use the GPS coordinates when driving as the nearest street address may be a couple of miles away on some of our trips in some GPS maps.

Meeting place
Hunting Hollow parking lot, Henry Coe State Park

Parking: $6 per vehicle ($5 for seniors 62+). BRING EXACT CHANGE AND BRING PEN OR PENCIL. Go to the display area. Fill out envelope, tear off parking stub, put money in envelope and seal, and place envelope in the unattended payment box.

Carpooling
We will use this link for carpooling:
https://groupcarpool.com/t/rv6w0s

AllTrails Map:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/hunting-hollow-willson-peak-12-7-miles-v2-05b33cf?u=i&sh=pyl4xm

The planned hike has two stream crossings. These streams can be easily crossed if the water level is low. If the water level is too high to safely cross, we will do the following alternate hike (12.7 miles, 2,267 feet elevation gain):
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/hunting-hollow-grizzly-gulch-12-miles-4ab5237?u=i&sh=pyl4xm

Hiking Directions:
->> Start your hike from the far end of the Hunting Hollow parking lot onto Hunting Hollow Road for 0.1 miles.
->> Turn left onto Jim Donnelly Trail for 1.1 miles.
->> Turn right at the first intersection onto East Connector Trail for 1.1 miles.
->> Turn right onto Middle Steer Ridge Trail for 0.1 miles
->> Turn left onto Lyman Willson Trail for 2.1 miles.
->> Turn right at the first junction onto Bow Trail for 0.7 miles, passing by 4 junctions at Willson Camp on your right. There is a portable toilet at Willson Camp.
->> Continue straight onto Wagon Road for 0.1 miles until you arrive at a 5-way intersection.
->> Take the second trail from the left onto Wagon Road for 0.8 miles.
->> Continue straight at the junction onto Grizzly Gulch Trail for 0.4 miles. There is a pit toilet just to the left of this trail. We will take a short snack/lunch break at the lake near the trail junction.
->> Turn left at the junction onto Serpentine Trail for 0.9 miles.
->> Turn right onto Steer Ridge Road for 0.1 miles.
->> Go through two junctions to stay on Steer Ridge Road for 0.1 miles, then turn right at the third junction onto Willson Peak Trail, then shortly turn left onto Willson Summit Trail for 0.1 miles to reach the summit.
->> Go back down Willson Peak Trail for 0.1 miles.
->> Turn right onto Steer Ridge Road for 0.2 miles.
->> Stay right at the next junction to stay on Steer Ridge Road for 0.8 miles.
->> Turn right at the next junction onto Spike Jones Trail for 0.2 miles.
->> Go straight through the first junction to stay on Spike Jones Trail for a short distance, then turn left at the next junction onto Steer Jones Trail for 0.3 miles.
->> Turn right onto Steer Ridge Road for a short distance, then turn left onto Jim Donnelly Trail for 2.0 miles.
->> Turn right at the junction to stay on Jim Donnelly Trail for 0.9 miles.
->> Turn right onto Hunting Hollow Road and return to the parking lot for 0.1 miles.

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