Coyote Creek Trail and Bike Path

Let me start with, yes they have bathrooms. That is the first thing I worry about, lol. There is two parking lots. You just drive up Cochrane Ave and it will be on your left when the lane starts to curve to go to Anderson or here. I liked going on this path because about half of it is shaded and has a lot of water areas to take some pretty pictures. It was about 91 degrees so was a little brutal in the hot sun but nice under the shaded trees and underpass. They also have a trail to go with horses which is nice. We saw 4 people go in a little water area under the overpass with their horses and it made me miss having a horse to go in creeks with. Starts in Morgan Hill and ends somewhere in San Jose. The last time I was here was over 20 years ago when I was a little kid, and my daughter loved it other than it made her legs tired going up and down little hills. Will definitely come back!

Overall, this is a nice paved, flat, trail for cycling and walking. I’ve done both from end to end. The Morgan hill end of the trail is quite pleasant, and moderately used. Deer, wild turkeys, hawks, bobcats, and other wildlife are common sights. There is a nice little nature museum, restrooms, water, and a parking lot. Just a very short distance easterly along Malaguerra Ave. is a nice picnic area, and westerly down Cochrane road are a couple of shopping centers with places to eat, and a Peets coffee shop.
Northerly along the trail, a little over two miles, is a model aircraft flying field, complete with water, chemical toilets, and shaded tables. The next several miles northerly is relatively unused and very pleasant. Just north of Metcalf Rd. is another park with toilets, water and tables. From here north to Hellyer Park, the trail sees heavier use. There is a rest stop and parking at Silver Creek Valley Rd. Hellyer Park has facilities, is very heavily used on weekends, and may have some questionable characters hanging out on weekdays. From Hellyer, north to Tully Rd. the trail is not at all pleasant due to copious amounts of liter, and bums.

The 5 stars only applies to Coyote Creek Trail at «Morgan Hill.»
We enjoyed beautiful scenery at Morgan Hill area.
Once entering San Jose, it went down to 3.5 stars.

Very clean and nice park to go on little hikes and whatnot. Hope to come back someday. We got there right at sunset (which is when the park closes). Loved the scenery!!! Great place for kids.

Beautiful trail. Great place to go unwind, see nature and take the kids. Lots of beautiful sights and lots of wildlife.

Coyote creek trail is really an amazing thing for us in the South Bay. It’s a 15+ mile, paved trail that is in pretty decent shape. I came out one Sunday morning to explore on my bicycle. I made the mistake of not looking at a schedule of possible events happening that day, so I had to deal with a gaggle of ½ marathon, 10k, and 5k runners for about 6 miles before I could really get moving. Definitely a cool place to come and get in a nice flat bike ride.
Pros:
Tons of parking inside the park
No cars for the 30 mile out and back ride
Split trail with a painted line
Beautiful scenery
Mile markers
Flat ride
Cons:
Some lumpy pavement from roots near the beginning of the ride (be careful!)
Can get very busy with families
15mph speed limit (boo!)
Sketchy looking homeless hanging out under the overpasses (glass everywhere)
Flat ride

This is one of my favorite places to go and relieve stress though bike riding. I have been going here since 2000. I used to go through the whole 30 miles from San Jose to Morgan Hill. There are a variety of sentries and interesting views. Watch for the snakes and even worse Mosquitos. I have been gang bitten a couple of times. It was no fun.

Definitely my favorite bike trail in the south bay.
The trail spans from Tully Road in San Jose to Eagle View Drive in Morgan Hill. A good starting point is at Hellyer Country Park in South San Jose. The distance from here to the end of trail in Morgan hill is 15 miles. This makes for a good 30 mile out and back ride. The only downside to starting in Hellyer Park is that you have to pay a few bucks to enter the park. You could park in the residential area outside of the park, but what I’ve actually preferred is starting a little bit south from there off of Blossom Hill/​Silver Creek Valley Road. There’s a small free parking lot just east of 101. From here it is about a 13 mile ride to Morgan Hill.
The trail is relatively flat with an overall elevation gain of about 200 feet. There are a couple areas that gradually climb, but apart from that, it’s a pretty leisure ride. The trail is paved the entire way and in decent condition. There are a few bumpy areas, but most are marked with paint or signs.
The trail runs through some really nice scenic areas of the Coyote Creek countryside. I love this trail because there’s very little foot and bike traffic and the the path crosses streets only 3 times, all of which have very little to no traffic.
The trail passes by a couple rest areas with benches. One rest area is just after the golf course over a climb. It has a few benches shaded by eucalyptus trees. There’s also benches at Metcalf Park. The end of the trail in Morgan Hill has a nice shaded area with benches and surprisingly clean bathrooms.
Keep in mind the wind picks up in the afternoon and is usually pretty strong, especially if you’re headed north. Also, there’s intermittent shade on the trail. There are pretty long stretches of wide open areas without shade, so it can get pretty hot on a clear summer day.
I’ve seen everything from entire families to avid cyclists on this trail. Seems like a great choice for all fitness levels. Now get out there and enjoy the ride for yourself!

I love this trail. If you are looking for a relatively easy, long and car free trail, this is the trail for you. Paved trail (a few bumps early on) so it is great for a road bike or a hybrid and it is suitable for beginners. I first took this trail when I rode from Fremont to Morgan hill. I entered the trail at tuers rd and brandybuck, just south of Capitol expressway. While you can enter the trail from further up north (Tully rd), but there is a big homeless encampment near by.
From Tuers Rd, it is about an 18 mile ride until the end at Eagle View dr in Morgan hill. Immediately after you enter the trail, you’ll pass by the Velodome, a cool little bike track where you can watch cyclist race.
If you have young uns or new riders, be aware that riding this entire length from north to south actually gains –200 feet in elevation so it can be tiring for some, but it is spread out over 18 miles so not too bad.
I usually exit the trail in Morgan hill and ride another 2 miles to cochrane plaza and get a spam musubi from Ohana.
For the adventurous, lake Anderson is about 30 minutes riding with an uphill ride of about 400 feet. Great ride, but don’t try it on a hot day as there is no shade up there.

Excellent paved trail to bike on if you want just cycle through without worrying about cars and frequent stops. It’s a good straight flat path between Morgan Hill and Blossom Hill in San Jose. North of Blossom Hill through Hellyer Park in San Jose, however, is covered with uneven surface and bumps. You may even run into homeless encampments.
If you stay south it should be fine. Riding south is easy and relaxing with several bridges to cross. A couple rest stops are available if needed. Riding north may be a challenge at times as the wind can blow hard later in the day.

Not challenging at all if you are an avid hiker, but a nice after work or quick weekend stroll or a trail run. Since the foothills are only really pretty and green a few months a year i would recommend going in the spring, but when that summer sun beats down hard, the first part of the trail from the parking lot in Morgan Hill is a great shady creek path. It’s never really crowded at all, if you avoid the paved areas and bushwhack your way through the creek bank areas. Bring the dogs!

Pretty, paved, not too crowded, many mileage (makers every .5 miles throughout) and connection point options… A nice trail in Morgan Hill for running/​biking. Trail passes some pretty ponds and is mostly flat. Very pleasant, highly recommend!
*Note: I always start on the Morgan Hill side, off Eagle View Drive and I run — don’t bike, so can’t speak for cyclists or the San Jose side.

Free parking lot. Rattlesnakes (saw two babies) and ticks be careful. Tends to get hot on the trail.

Love this trail. Get ready for bumps and a beautiful view. Biked 20 miles starting on Blossom Hill Road down toward the end going south. Great workout and some small uphills for your legs. Bring water and snacks! Free parking at Blossom Hill or Monterey trail entrances. Gates close at sunset if you park at the trail entrances.

Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me — I am happy — Hamlin Garland
This is an excellent trail, perfect for a quick 30 mile round trip bike ride or the lunch time walks that I use it for. Mostly flat wit the meandering creek beside it, it is a wonderful amenity for both Morgan Hill and South San Jose residents. This would also be a fine picnic outing as there are dozens of old gnarled oak trees here and plenty of places to sit my the creek and contemplate romance or the meaning of life.
Or maybe you can use the opportunity to contemplate one John S. of Mammoth Lakes who after adding so much to our Unilocal community, well one tip that basically states «Steaks good, me like», decided to send me a «compliment» about a 4 star review I did last summer for Yamatani in Bishop where using his advanced vocabulary John wrote: «You’re a snob». Now my first surprise was that John actually knew how to use the apostrophe correctly in «you’re». Kudos John as that is a tough skill to master! Next, since John is evidently a «rugged» mountain man based in the «wilderness» of bankrupt Mammoth Lakes I was surprised that John was offended that I did not give this sushi place five stars. I thought a man of John’s nature skill would consider sushi whatever it was that he caught with his bare hands in some raging river.
But John must be a sensitive soul, upset that I said Yamatani had surprisingly good sushi and a surprisingly good wine list. But with limited experience communicating with the outside world, since the Eastern Sierra is at least a few minutes from civilization, John lashed out as only a man with limited engagement skills could: with a slightly anonymous insult much like those trolls do on Fox News. John are you a closest Tea Party dude? Is that why speaking with someone intelligently about their review and opinion is so hard? You could have engaged me with a message… talked about your offense to my review mano o mano but the best your (not you’re) not quite dealing with a full deck brain could come up with is «You’re a snob».
Just awesome! You have a choice in life to either add lightness or darkness and like a Prius driver going too slow in the fast lane you decided to add darkness. Damn you must have been proud of yourself when you hit send! Did you walk around with a more confident strut afterwards like John Travolta with a Bee Gees soundtrack? Did it give you a little courage and you thought to yourself: «You know someday I too can string a few paragraphs together, maybe start with a quote or two, and someday, maybe just maybe post a review or two on Unilocal instead of just hurl semi-​anonymous insults.» A man can dream John! Go for it! We will be rooting for you Rugged Wilderness Dude!

This a great running and biking trail and highly recommend that you start the ride from South San Jose below and not from Tully road. The trail is great but too much litter, smelly and un-​wanted residents. You have 2 options to enjoy Coyote Creek Trail.
1. Near Silver Creek Valley Road — Please use this address 6073 Silver Creek Valley Rd). Parking is free and there is a clean restroom.
2. Another option which is further south at Metcalf Park and you can use this for Forsum Rd and Urshan Way, San Jose, CA, 95 139. This is next to housing and near a playground so it is great for family with kids. There is also a clean restroom.
The trails is great and almost flat. Hardly any climb but there are some bumpy areas which you need to watch out especially if you have kids 5 and under. Overall, this is a great trail for adult and kids. plenty of view, rest stop with benches and highly recommended the water jet ski area for a break stop.

Hobo central.
We parked at the lot on Tully road. I think this may have been our primary mistake.
We made it about 3 miles south before we decided it was in our best interest to turn around — praying the car was still actually there.
Things we saw: 1 squirrel, 1 black cat, a couple groups of what appeared to be gang members, hobos, hobo tent cities, a drug dealer, human excrement, 1 orange cat, at least 3 shopping carts, and enough garbage to fill a landfill.
There are sections that you can smell the piss in the breeze. It’s lovely.
This trail is sketchy. I would NEVER go on this trail alone and would advise (esp females) that you do not go here alone either. Even the bf agreed we turn around when we did (and usually he fights me that I’m being too much of a pussy when we get in odd situations).
I think we’ll try this trail again but start further south. I hope we have better results. It’s really sad the city spent so much money on this trail yet they let these types of activities go on.

This is a very nice, leisurely, scenic trail. The best part is that I didn’t have to worry about getting hit by a car (only by a remote control airplane… just kidding). I went on a day when it was relatively quiet and I was able to have a nice ride and enjoy my surroundings. I biked roundtrip for roughly 20 mi. and I worked up a pretty good sweat without over-​exerting myself. I would have given it 5 stars, but there was one section of trail that had a mine field of thorns near the Coyote Ranch and Shutzhund Dog Club. 2 flat tires! So, be careful around that area.

Without a doubt, this is an excellent bike trail for a 18.7 miles long paved path. You can start from anywhere along the trail and still have a good workout for a round trip ride. There are couple small hills (not even a climb) which are suitable for beginners at all ages. Another point that makes the trail great is there are alot of trees along both sides so you can still ride during the hot summer.
I live near Yerba Buena Rd and have been riding round trip to Morgan Hill which is around 32 miles. I really enjoy the ride as we can stop to have lunch at the Cochrane Plaza near the end of the trail.

This is a great, mostly level, paved path for biking, walking or jogging and a great alternative to the Los Gatos Creek trail.
I tried my new recumbent bike on it a couple days ago, starting from Silver Creek Valley road and going all the way down to the end at Morgan Hill and back. It was a perfect ride. Almost 30 miles and not too many people on the trail to get in your way.
Here’s the trail map starting from Hellyer Park:
I would recommend this for anyone wanting to ride something that’s not too grueling but good for some distance. If you get tired of all the people on the Los Gatos creek trail, this is a great alternative!