Upper Stevens Creek County Park is an important piece in the south skyline region open space preserve and park region. The park connects Monte Bello, Long Ridge, and Saratoga Gap open space preserves, and hosts a portion of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. This connectivity benefits bicyclists the most, as it enables them to string together trails and preserves to create long, challenging loop rides. For hikers the only multi-preserve loop is a 8.5 mile jaunt combining the Bay Area Ridge Trail, Charcoal Road, Table Mountain Trail, Canyon Trail, Grizzly Flat Trail, Peters Creek Trail, and Hickory Oaks Trail. This fairly strenuous hike drops down to the actual Stevens Creek and then regains 1000 feet of elevation on the way back to the trailhead, with a certain amount of roller coaster elevation changes in between. Both the trailheads at Upper Stevens Creek County Park afford access to Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. All hikes starting at Upper Stevens Creek County Park are the upside-down variety (a descent followed by an ascent).
     I've enjoyed hikes here all year round. In autumn black oaks, which blend in to the forest most of the year, pop with color. Fall is also the season when poison oak is literally red flagged by nature; you'll be grateful for the warning along Alternate Trail, which has a shocking amount of the noxious plant along most of the trail, some of it crowding the trail at an alarming face-height level. In winter Charcoal Road is muddy, creeks swell with storm runoff, and manzanita bloom. There might be storm damage along Alternate Trail. Mid to late spring may be my favorite, for that's the peak bloom of two of my favorite chaparral shrubs, bush poppy and chaparral pea.
        Start this hike on the east side of Skyline Boulevard, across the street from the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve gate (LR01). Look for a narrow, unmarked path heading east. After a few steps a small sign marks your entry into Upper Stevens Creek County Park. The trail, a segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, winds slightly downhill through the shade of black oak, madrone, California bay, and tanoak. Hazelnut is a common understory plant. At 0.22 mile, you'll reach a four way junction. Sandstone is the dominant rock here, and this clearing is so deep with sand sometimes in summer it's like a walk on the beach. Under the trees near the information signboard are a few small Indian grinding bowls worn into a broad rock. Stop at the information signboard here if you'd like to consult the map. Then take the broad trail to the left and downhill, Charcoal Road. 
     A trail signed hiking only departs to the left just a few feet down Charcoal Road; this is the path you'll take on the return leg of this hike. Charcoal Road is signed for uphill bicycle traffic only, which means you shouldn't have to check your back every 20 seconds to make sure you won't be run over as you descend. Initially the descent is slight, but soon the grade becomes sharp. The fire road features a panoply of plants, including bigleaf maple, madrone, Douglas fir, chamise, manzanita, coyote brush, black oak, coast live oak, canyon live oak, poison oak, and California bay. Chaparral pea and bush poppy bloom in late May, on the left side of the trail. In October, look for lovely red-berried honeysuckle vines hanging down off the trees. Later, in November, madrone berries dangle off their branches. Occasionally the vegetation clears to offers views to the hills southeast, including Mount Hamilton and Mount Umunhum. The deeply dusty surface of the trail makes for great animal tracking, particularly in the subsequent mud after a rainstorm. Briefly Charcoal Road enters MROSD land. At 1.00 mile, stay to the left at a signed junction with a service road.
    Charcoal Road narrows, and the jurisdiction returns to Santa Clara County. Madrone, Douglas fir, coast live oak, and redwood crowd the trail. At 1.50 miles, you'll reach an unsigned T junction. Turn left (the trail to the right is not a through trail).
     This junction seems to be where Charcoal Road morphs into Table Mountain Trail; it's indistinct on the SCCP map, and unmarked on the trail. The grade softens to a more moderate descent. Tree cover deepens, with a few redwoods accompanying a forest of Douglas fir and madrone. Eventually, the trail levels out, and you'll enter a clearing. This meadow is astonishingly quiet. Through the grassland an odd assortment of madrone, non-native conifers, coyote brush, California coffeeberry, and black and live oaks are sprinkled here and there. The views uphill to the rolling hills of Monte Bello Ridge are pleasant. Somehow this meadow seems out-of-place in Santa Clara County. I always feel like I'm in the Sierra, or some other place far from civilization. To the left across the meadow Alternate Trail comes into view. Stay to the right at an unmarked junction at 1.90 miles, just past a pretty perfectly-shaped conifer. 
     Wider here, Table Mountain Trail curves around a gently sloping hill. Nonnative trees (firs) still can be glimpsed on the sides of the trail, although there are huge piles of removed trees clustered throughout the grass to the left. Oaks, Douglas fir, and madrones are reclaiming their native soil. The trail sweeps back to the left, still skirting the "summit" of Table Mountain, and reaches an unsigned junction at 2.52 miles, under the shade of some coast live oaks. The path to the right descends to Stevens Creek. Continue straight on Table Mountain Trail. After a short straight stretch, a hiking-only trail sets out on the right side of the trail at 2.57 miles. Turn right onto the path. (The Trail Center map calls this path Alternate Trail.)
        On every one of my hikes it's been apparent that the trail is used by cyclists. All along the length of this trail, Santa Clara County Parks has tried to keep cyclists off of the path, stretching logs across the trail, leaving fallen trees partially obstructing the trail, and installing a fence-like shoot impossible to navigate while on a bicycle. Nothing has worked. Bicyclists have simply gone over, under, or around every obstacle. Be alert, for a collision with bike descending this trail would be a serious incident. Also beware of poison oak, which drifts toward the trail and hangs off trees (in winter when the plant is leafless but still dangerous, treat every bare skinny vine branch as a potential poison oak threat). It is really difficult to avoid some contact. I recommend wearing long pants and long sleeves, and taking a cool shower as soon as you get home. Aside from these caveats, it's a lovely long ascent, with no (legitimate) trail junctions the entire length of the trail. After drifting downhill through woods and some little meadows, the trail crosses a creek, and climbs through California bay, tanoak, coast live oak, canyon live oak, interior live oak, hazelnut, Douglas fir, and madrone. You might also see creambush and pitcher sage. A few early switchbacks lull you into the false confidence that this will be a gently graded ascent. As you get further uphill, steeper sections set you straight. Eventually the trail emerges into a clearing of some chaparral, and for a while short stretches of open trail alternate with more shady sections. Tall chaparral plants (manzanita, chaparral pea, yerba santa, chamise, shrubby oaks, wartleaf ceanothus, golden fleece, and coyote brush) sometimes tower over 6 feet tall, blocking most views. At some clear spots, look south and east for the best views of the hike. Alternate Trail heads back into the woods, still climbing at a moderate grade. On the left you'll pass a trail, blocked off put still clearly in use. Could this be the old routing of the trail, still indicated on the map? The trail descends a bit. In autumn, beware of loose rocks covered with fallen leaves on the trail surface. You might see California nutmeg trees on the right side of the trail. At a sharp corner, a straight channel reaches up to Charcoal Road (a path created by cyclists), while the trail continues to the right. Alternate Trail ends shortly after, at 5.27 miles, at a junction just before the large 4-way sandbox intersection. (This trail is tough to spot when you're traveling north from the sandbox. If you want to see a photo of the junction, click here. It's the small trail on the left by the reflective post. This trail seems to have been rerouted; the old route remains on most of the county's maps.) Take the Bay Area Ridge Trail to the right, retracing your steps back to the trailhead.

Total distance: about 5.50 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, May 21, 2002

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