Los
Alamitos Creek Trail,
City of San Jose & Santa Clara Water District,
Santa Clara County
In brief:
3.9 mile out and back walk on a paved trail.
Getting there:
From Interstate 280 in Santa Clara County, take CA 85 south (toward Gilroy). After
about 12 miles, exit at Almaden Expressway and turn right onto Almaden Expressway.
Drive about 1 mile, then make a u-turn at Winfield and drive about 0.3 mile to
the Almaden Lake Park entrance on the right.
Trailhead details:
Almaden Lake Park has two (unconnected) parking lots with plenty of parking. No
dogs are permitted in the west lot (this is the one accessed by Almaden Expressway),
so if you want to bring a dog, use the east
entrance trailhead: from Highway 85 drive on Almaden Expressway, turn left
onto Coleman, right on Winfield, then turn right into the park. $6 parking fees
are charged during summer months, but access is free other times of the year.
You'll find restrooms, drinking water, and a pay phone at the trailhead. There
are no maps of Los Alamitos Creek Trail at the trailhead, but interpretive signs
along the trail highlight the route. There are several designated handicapped
parking spaces, and trails are well suited to wheelchairs and strollers. This
trail is accessible by public transportation. Visit the Transit
Info website for details. You can also access this trail via a 25 car trailhead
(no fee) on Camden Avenue at Mt. Forest Drive.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, and restaurants less than 1 mile away to the north. No camping.
Rules:
Almaden Lake Park is open from 8 a.m. to one half hour after sunset. Los Alamitos
Creek Trail is a multi-use trail. Dogs are permitted, on leash only (dogs are
not permitted at the western part of Almaden Lake Park: see details above).
Distance, category, and, difficulty:
Very easy; this 3.9 mile out and back walk is on a paved and nearly flat
trail.
The Official Story:
San Jose's Almaden
Lake Park page
San Jose's Los
Alamitos Creek Trail page
Park office (408) 277-5130
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Almaden
Lake Park map from City of San Jose (only shows the area around Almaden Lake
Park)
• Los
Alamitos Creek Trail map from City of San Jose
• South Bay Trails, by Jean Rusmore, Betsy Crowder, and Frances
Spangle (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and descriptions of Los
Alamitos Creek Trail.
• View photos from this walk.
Alamitos Creek flows from the eastern slopes of the Sierra
Azul 
down
into Almaden Valley, where it meets Arroyo Calero, then the two continue north
to drain into Almaden Lake. Although the creek may look mild and gentle most of
the year, heavy winter storms created chronic flooding in Almaden Valley until
the Santa Clara Water District widened the creekbed and installed levees in the
1970s. Los Alamitos Creek Trail, a paved multi-use path, is a joint effort between
the City of San Jose and the Santa Clara Water District. The broad path begins
at Almaden Lake and heads south, following along the banks of the creek. Initially
the trail skirts some housing developments, then it crosses the creek and runs
parallel to Camden Avenue. Los Alamitos Creek Trail eventually abandons a roadside
course and takes a final path along Calero and Santa Teresa Creeks, ending at
Fortini Road and Santa Teresa County Park.
Hikers who prefer challenging dirt paths will quickly
tire of the flat paved trail, but locals make good use of Los Alamitos Creek Trail,
for dog-walking, jogging, 
daily
strolls, and fitness training on the trailside paracourse. Almaden Valley, despite
the press of civilization from San Jose, still is horse ranch country, and Los
Alamitos Creek Trail gets a steady stream of equestrian traffic. Cyclists can
use Los Alamitos Creek Trail as an expressway to Santa
Teresa County Park, or even Almaden Quicksilver
County Park (although this entails a short ride on city streets). If you take
public transportation (San Jose Light Rail or bus) to the trailhead at Almaden
Lake you can avoid paying a parking fee, and even take (in summer) an after-ride/hike
swim.
Start at the western parking lot and began walking
on a paved path. You'll pass the swim beach and some picnic areas as you walk
through the nicely manicured park. Just past a pretty line of peppertrees, a small
path departs on the right, heading a short distance to a grassy hilltop. Continue
straight on the paved path, then turn left and cross a bridge. At the end
of the bridge turn right and at 0.35 mile, the path morphs into the signed
Los Alamitos Creek Trail.
The creek, downslope on the right, 
winds
through a tangle of willow, fennel, and blackberry. Oaks, sycamore, and peppertree
shade the trail, while wild rose, toyon, coyote brush, and blue elderberry occupy
the understory. Los Alamitos Creek Trail reaches a housing development, on the
left. The path passes a huge old sycamore tree which tosses leaves to the ground
in autumn, and dips under a bridge (an alternate route for horses veers left).
One of the several interpretive panels you'll encounter on your walk shows Los
Alamitos Creek Trail's route, and explains how the Santa Clara Water District
shifted the creek's course to prevent flooding. Although there are more houses
not far away on the right side of creek, direct your gaze over them for nice views
of the hills of Almaden Quicksilver and, further west, the Sierra Azul. A dirt
path for horses departs on the left, and runs a short distance from the paved
trail. This nice alternate rejoins the main trail before long, but first draws
close to a grassy hillside where you might see deer. A cottontail scurried underneath
shrubs of coyote brush on my visit, attempting to evade a redtail hawk.
You might notice that a portion of the hillside on the left is dominated by California
sagebrush and black sage, two aromatic shrubs also found in profusion at nearby
Santa Teresa County Park. The dirt and paved paths merge again and the two run
together along the side of another housing development. Look uphill to the left
for huge boulders on the hills above the neighborhood; although historically this
area was cow pasture, in the late 1940's large scale rock removal was commonplace
(if you continue walking past the Camden Avenue bridge you'll cross a street named
Graystone). Almaden Lake was created by filling an old quarry. Los Alamitos Creek
Trail turns away from the houses and winds through some sycamores and a picnic
area. Squirrels are common here. The trail takes a straight tack through an open
area, then crosses the creek on a sturdy bridge and reaches the Camden Avenue
Trailhead at 1.95 miles. From a bench facing the creek (a nice spot for a rest
break), you might see egret, ducks, and heron in the creek. This is the turn-around
point for this hike. The trail continues along the creek, but the next stretch
follows close to Camden Avenue, and some visitors (including me) may consider
this section of Los Alamitos Creek Trail more sidewalk than trail. Retrace
your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 3.90 miles
Last visit: Wednesday, November 28, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
down
into Almaden Valley, where it meets Arroyo Calero, then the two continue north
to drain into Almaden Lake. Although the creek may look mild and gentle most of
the year, heavy winter storms created chronic flooding in Almaden Valley until
the Santa Clara Water District widened the creekbed and installed levees in the
1970s. Los Alamitos Creek Trail, a paved multi-use path, is a joint effort between
the City of San Jose and the Santa Clara Water District. The broad path begins
at Almaden Lake and heads south, following along the banks of the creek. Initially
the trail skirts some housing developments, then it crosses the creek and runs
parallel to Camden Avenue. Los Alamitos Creek Trail eventually abandons a roadside
course and takes a final path along Calero and Santa Teresa Creeks, ending at
Fortini Road and Santa Teresa County Park. 
daily
strolls, and fitness training on the trailside paracourse. Almaden Valley, despite
the press of civilization from San Jose, still is horse ranch country, and Los
Alamitos Creek Trail gets a steady stream of equestrian traffic. Cyclists can
use Los Alamitos Creek Trail as an expressway to Santa
Teresa County Park, or even Almaden Quicksilver
County Park (although this entails a short ride on city streets). If you take
public transportation (San Jose Light Rail or bus) to the trailhead at Almaden
Lake you can avoid paying a parking fee, and even take (in summer) an after-ride/hike
swim.
winds
through a tangle of willow, fennel, and blackberry. Oaks, sycamore, and peppertree
shade the trail, while wild rose, toyon, coyote brush, and blue elderberry occupy
the understory. Los Alamitos Creek Trail reaches a housing development, on the
left. The path passes a huge old sycamore tree which tosses leaves to the ground
in autumn, and dips under a bridge (an alternate route for horses veers left).
One of the several interpretive panels you'll encounter on your walk shows Los
Alamitos Creek Trail's route, and explains how the Santa Clara Water District
shifted the creek's course to prevent flooding. Although there are more houses
not far away on the right side of creek, direct your gaze over them for nice views
of the hills of Almaden Quicksilver and, further west, the Sierra Azul. A dirt
path for horses departs on the left, and runs a short distance from the paved
trail. This nice alternate rejoins the main trail before long, but first draws
close to a grassy hillside where you might see deer. A cottontail scurried underneath
shrubs of coyote brush on my visit, attempting to evade a redtail hawk.
You might notice that a portion of the hillside on the left is dominated by California
sagebrush and black sage, two aromatic shrubs also found in profusion at nearby
Santa Teresa County Park. The dirt and paved paths merge again and the two run
together along the side of another housing development. Look uphill to the left
for huge boulders on the hills above the neighborhood; although historically this
area was cow pasture, in the late 1940's large scale rock removal was commonplace
(if you continue walking past the Camden Avenue bridge you'll cross a street named
Graystone). Almaden Lake was created by filling an old quarry. Los Alamitos Creek
Trail turns away from the houses and winds through some sycamores and a picnic
area. Squirrels are common here. The trail takes a straight tack through an open
area, then crosses the creek on a sturdy bridge and reaches the Camden Avenue
Trailhead at 1.95 miles. From a bench facing the creek (a nice spot for a rest
break), you might see egret, ducks, and heron in the creek. This is the turn-around
point for this hike. The trail continues along the creek, but the next stretch
follows close to Camden Avenue, and some visitors (including me) may consider
this section of Los Alamitos Creek Trail more sidewalk than trail. Retrace
your steps back to the trailhead.