
Rainbows
Waterfalls

Location

Features

Coyote
Peak

Wildlife

Trails 1

Trails 2

Future
Hopes

Friends
of STP

Wild-
flowers

Wall-
paper
|
Coyote
Peak stands like a sentinel guarding the southern
gate to the Silicon Valley in South San Jose. It dominates the ridge of
the Santa Teresa Hills and greets visitors approaching the Bay Area
from
the south. The peak is part of the mostly wild and undeveloped lands
protected
by Santa
Teresa County Park. Santa Teresa may not be the biggest of the
Santa
Clara County Parks, but in a way, it may be the most significant. No
other
county park offers such vast undeveloped wildlands so close to so many
homes, shopping centers, and high-tech businesses. IBM's and Hitachi's
labs and
factories
are adjacent to or a short distance away from the park. So is the
proposed Coyote
Valley development project. The end of the VTA
Light
Rail line is also a short distance away, a few blocks from Santa Teresa
Hospital. For thousands of workers and residents, a short walk or bike
ride into Santa Teresa Park can take them into shady oak forests with
creeks
and waterfalls, across wildflower-covered hills populated by deer,
coyotes,
and wild turkeys, and up steep rocky ridges with panoramic views of the
Bay Area. For those immersed in the fast-paced, high-pressure lifestyle
of Silicon Valley, a walk in the woods here can be a therapeutic
stress-reliever,
as well as providing life-extending aerobic exercise. For
city-raised
children, it allows them to experience nature live and close up. It's
also
a good place for companies, families, and youth groups to have picnics
in the outdoors, seemingly a world away from the crowded city.
Click on the buttons to the left to go to sections on the
park's location,
features and facilities, wildlife, Coyote Peak, park trails (in 2
parts),
and future hopes for the park.
Map
of Santa Teresa Park.
New additions:
Volunteers
The Friends of Santa Teresa Park
is the volunteer organization that supports the park. Santa Teresa Park
is a wonderful and valuable local and regional recreational resource.
Volunteers
have been important to maintaining the park, building new trails, and
helping
to plan its future.
I am the secretary for the Friends of Santa Teresa Park and
Webmaster
for their Website. See their Website for more pictures of the park,
including
tours, news, meeting information, and volunteer events.

Created 9/17/99, updated 7/5/05 by Ronald
Horii
|