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New!   Location   Features   Coyote Peak   Wildlife   Trails 1   Trails 2   Future Hopes

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 labs and factories are adjacent to or a short distance away from the park. So is the huge proposed Coyote Valley campus of Cisco Systems. 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. Volunteers The Friends of Santa Teresa Park is a volunteer organization that supports the park. Click here for more information. 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. Created 9/17/99, updated 3/1/00 by Ronald Horii