Joseph Grant County Park

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, I decided to go on a hike in Joseph D. Grant County Park, a huge park east of San Jose. It's the largest park in the county. The temperature was a pleasant sixty-something degrees. I regretted my clothing choice when trekking uphill for long stretches, but when walking downhill I was happy I didn't wear less. I guess it worked out.

The 7.5 mile hike led me up and down grassy rolling hills with pleasing views, as you can tell from the pictures I took. My route took me mainly along Halls Valley Trail, Canada de Pala Trail, and Yerba Buena Trail.

The best views I saw on this trip, however, weren't from the trail at all. Rather, the 8 mile stretch of Mount Hamilton Road leading to Grant Park is about two thousand feet above the valley. From this curvy road, there are great views down onto all of San Jose, the south end of the bay, and even across Silicon Valley to the Skyline mountain range on the other side. I wish I could've taken pictures, but the majority of the road (and especially all the sections with tremendous views) were labeled emergency parking only. :( All I could do was drive slowly and enjoy the vista.