Eaton
Park & Big Canyon Park,City of San Carlos,
San Mateo County
In brief:
3.4 mile out and back through surprisingly pretty woods bordering residential neighborhoods.
Getting there:
From Interstate 280 in San Mateo County, exit Edgewood Road. Drive about 2.5 miles east on Edgewood Road, to the junction with Alameda de las Pulgas. Turn left and drive about 0.1 mile to the stop sign at Eaton Avenue. Turn left and follow Eaton Avenue about 0.8 mile to the end of the road (bear left at Terrace, and right at Oak Creek).
Trailhead details:
• Side of the road parking for about 6 cars on a cul de sac in a residential neighborhood. Mind the no parking signs. No parking or entrance fees. No facilities (drinking water, maps, or restrooms). No designated handicapped parking, and trails are not suitable for wheelchairs.
• You can also enter either park from Brittan Avenue, where there is abundant side-of-street parking: from Highway 280 drive east about 1 mile on Edgewood, and then turn left onto Crestview. Drive north on Crestview to Brittan Avenue. Turn right and park on the side of the road near the signed "entrances" to Big Canyon and Eaton Parks. SamTrans bus #261 stops right in front of the parks on Brittan Avenue.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, pay phones, and restaurants in nearby San Carlos and Redwood City. No camping.
Rules:
Parks are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dogs are permitted. No other rules are posted, but equestrians and cyclists are unlikely to use these trails.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
Trails wobble up and down a bit, but overall, this 3.4 mile hike is easy. Trailhead elevation is about 290 feet. The hike's high point is about 600 feet.
The Official Story:
City of San Carlos's Big Canyon Park page
City of San Carlos's Eaton Park page
San Carlos Parks and Recreation 650-802-4286
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there
• Trail Map of the Central Peninsula, by the Trail Center (order this map from Amazon.com) is the best map available.
• Peninsula Trails, by Jean Rusmore, (order this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and park descriptions.
• View photos from this hike.
San Carlos' Big
Canyon
and Eaton Parks are overshadowed by two larger nearby preserves, Edgewood and
Pulgas. The trails at Big Canyon and Eaton seem to be mostly used by locals,
and on weekdays you might have both parks to yourself. These aren't "destination"
parks, but should you find yourself in the neighborhood, or live nearby, one
visit to Eaton and Big Canyon may hook you permanently.Although the footing can be tricky, Eaton and Big Canyon Parks make a fine track for a daily run or dogwalk. You'll need to be alert, for low hanging tree branches, steep steps, and leaf litter can make for a challenging run.
Both parks can be entered from Brittan Avenue, which offers more parking than Eaton Road, but I thought it was more fun to hike out and back from Eaton Road. If your time is limited, the Eaton Road trailhead is full, or you just want to visit one park, the Brittan trailhead may be a more logical choice.
The trails are short and easy enough to permit explorations
of both Eaton and Big Canyon in one visit. Each park offers one trail, and although
Brittan Avenue serves as the park boundary, it's easy enough to cross the road
from one to the other and continue hiking.Vegetation is similar at Eaton and Big Canyon, and although Big Canyon has some coast live oak and California bay woodland, most of the park has exposed south-facing dry slopes dominated with chamise, sagebrush, and coyote brush. Eaton Trail spends most of its length under cover of California bay, coast live oak, and buckeye, contouring along the north side of a hill. Surrounded on all sides by houses and streets, there are sights and sounds from civilization throughout this hike, but perhaps that makes any nature encounter more special. Some hikers report coyote sightings, and deer are common. Bobcat prints mark the dust on Big Canyon Trail. On my visit a hawk flew right above Eaton Trail just 10 feet from me, before settling in a nearby oak. The woods, chaparral, and grassland support a variety of spring wildflowers
and
blooming buckeyes, and seasonal creeks morph into tiny waterfalls in late winter.
Although there are no big-leaf maples to gawk at in autumn, the buckeye trees,
with their dangling pods, are pretty and the temperatures pleasant. In the heat
of summer you'll probably want to stick to the shaded woods of Eaton Trail,
eschewing the hot slopes of Big Canyon.Start at the Eaton Avenue Trailhead, pass through the chain link fence, and head uphill on unsigned Eaton Trail. This wide fire road, lined with coast live oak, toyon, and California bay, climbs steeply, then reaches an unsigned junction at .05 mile. There's a map on a little post, but only one trail is shown on it, and as you'll be standing at the confluence of two trails, the map is not all that helpful. Bear right (an orange-painted piece of pipe sticking up from the ground on the right is a clue that you are on the correct path).
Eaton Trail dips down to a seasonal creek
graced with some buckeyes, then begins a moderate climb. Coyote brush, poison
oak, sticky monkeyflower, and sagebrush mark a transition into chaparral, but
there are still some coast live oak and a few lovely blue oaks on the fringes
of the trail. Switchbacks snake up the hill, but they have all been shortcut,
leaving the grassland scarred with dusty and erosive paths. Eaton Trail takes
a sharp turn left and the grade stiffens. On a clear day, if you look over your
shoulder you'll have views east to the bay. Some acacias seem out of place along
the trail. At 0.30 mile, Eaton Trail reaches a saddle and an another unsigned
junction. Look for a second orange-painted pipe, and continue straight on
the trail.Eaton Trail narrows and heads downhill under the cover of coast live oak. Chamise, monkeyflower, and toyon line the trail as it easily descends along the contour of a hillside. You'll meander through small patches of chaparral, but most of Eaton Trail is well-shaded by California
bay,
coast live oak, and buckeye. The trail ducks under some low tree branches, crosses
a handful of seasonal creeks on simple planks, and skips down some steps. Watch
your step for banana slugs; on my hike I saw some on the trail and about 40
of them sprawled together in one creekbed. A short series of switchbacks ascend
through creambush, chamise, monkeyflower, and toyon, and there are views of
the surrounding neighborhood to the north. Soon after you'll cross through a
level "exotics alley," where a host of non-natives thrive, including
pine, eucalyptus, pampas grass, and broom. Then the trail heads back into the
woods, where you might see snowberry and ferns. Deer are common through here,
and
I saw a family of 5 bedded down on the hillside. Ascending to a sunny spot where
pitcher sage and mule ear sunflowers bloom in spring, there's a bench
on the right side of the trail. (If you're ready to head back, this is a logical
turn-around point.) Just a few steps later, the trail splits at an unsigned
junction. Stay to the right and look for small switchbacks and then steps
leading down into a residential neighborhood. It looks like you'll end up
in someone's yard, but the steps stop at a path between houses which leads you
to Brittan Avenue, at 1.11 miles. Carefully cross the street and enter Big
Canyon Park.A few landscaped trees, a park sign, and a rickety bench are the extent of the welcome. A broad flat trail heads into the canyon, and at 1.19 miles, the two ends of the loop split (there was a big pile of dirt here on my visit). Turn right at the "Start of trail" sign.
Narrow Big Canyon Trail begins switchbacking up the hillside. A few coast live oaks are in the minority, for coyote brush, sagebrush, poison oak, and monkeyflower
dominate
the landscape. You'll pass a bench with a view across the canyon, as well as
many sections of an older trail. As you reach a level stretch at the hike's
highest point, downslope from a row of houses, sun-loving chamise, yerba santa,
and pitcher sage thrive, accompanied by a few clumps of fennel and holly-leaf
cherry shrubs. Plank boards provide primitive creek crossings, where California
bay and buckeye shade the trail. Just past a post with an arrow that offers
no explanation and might give you pause, a path breaks off uphill toward a water
tower. Continue straight, and at a switchback, look up to the right for a bench
in a grassy spot, and a sign pointing out that the nearest restroom is 1/4 mile
away at Crestview Park. Big Canyon Trail begins to descend in earnest, although
the grade is always easy. Coast live oak and California bay are common. The
trail draws near to the canyon's main creek, and drainage structures are visible
at the canyon floor. After one last bridge, Big Canyon Trail ends back at a
previously encountered junction with the other end of the trail, at 2.16 miles.
Turn right and walk back to Brittan Avenue, then retrace your steps back
to the trailhead.Total distance: 3.38 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, September 18, 2001
