Cupertino
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Description: Upper Stevens Creek Park is a very challenging ride in nearly every respect, but very rewarding if you have the skills to tackle it. Single track trails, which make up approximately 4.5 miles of this 20 mile ride, are less than 2 feet wide with surfaces highly variable and ranging from loose rock, to hardpack, to redwood needle, to perpetual mud. Single track trails are often perched on relatively small ledges as they climb the sides of the canyon. There are several series of tight switchbacks, uphill rock and root sections, and three crossings of Stevens Creek. These challenges are often together or in quick succession. Additional hazards come after each winter rainstorm as the stream embankments change and trails that had been used for years occasionally disappear into the stream. Beyond the single track, Charcoal Rd. Trail, which is a 2 mile fire road, is a continuous climb averaging 14% and far exceeding that in many sections. If you have the skills for this ride, it is a rewarding challenge. If you don’t yet have the skills, you may be pushing and wading several times.
The park has a parking lot on Skyline Rd. at the Grizzly Flat trailhead, a 40 minute drive from San Jose. Our recommended ride does not start there, but instead starts 15 minutes driving time closer at Stevens Creek Reservoir in Stevens Creek County Park (Notice the “Upper” is missing from the name of this park; it is a different county park). Several smaller parking lots near the intersection of Stevens Canyon Rd. and Mt. Eden Rd., all also in Stevens Creek Park, will shorten the ride by 2 miles, but these lots are often full. The park consists of 10 miles of trails, but our recommended route adds several miles of raved road and dirt road outside the park. The first 4.5 miles of the ride is a gentle climb on a paved public road. The pavement ends at the trailhead of Canyon Trail, which briefly goes through Montebello Regional Open Space before entering Upper Stevens Creek County Park. After 1.5 miles of dirt, which includes the first stream crossing and some challenging single track, you reach the intersection with Lower Table Mountain Trail, the first trail in Upper Stevens Creek park. Although an obvious left turn, it is surprisingly easy to miss. If you see a sign for Palo Alto City Limits, you have missed the turn. Lower Table Mountain Trail is one-way uphill to bikes. It re-crosses the creek, then immediately climbs through tight, steep switchbacks that include exposed rock and roots. It is a challenging section to “clean”. There is another similar section 0.5 mile further, but the remainder of the Lower Table Mountain Trail is generally easier, although you should expect tight turns, exposed rock and roots, a very narrow trail and a constant climb the entire length of this trail. Lower Table Mountain Trail ends at Table Mountain Fire Road, which is a small loop; you should turn right. Within a few hundred feet is another single track, Table Mountain Trail, which is strictly a foot trail closed to bikes. After 0.3 miles Table Mountain Fire Road seamlessly becomes Charcoal Rd., which is a steep dirt road that also serves as an access to private property, so there may be a 4×4 car on it occasionally. At the top of Charcoal Rd. you will ride a section of the Ridge Trail through Longridge Regional Open Space, cross Skyline Rd. state route 35 twice, then reenter Upper Stevens Creek County Park at the Grizzly Flat trailhead. You will descend the Grizzly Flat trail all the way back into Stevens Canyon, a fast two mile descent on a twisty fire road, where you will again cross Stevens Creek and tackle a challenging set of very tight climbing single track switchbacks with exposed rocks and roots before rejoining the Canyon Trail and descending back to Stevens Creek Reservoir.
There are no recommended 1000 Footer or Medium Rides in Upper Stevens Creek. Restrooms are at the Lakeside Picnic area and at the intersection of Stevens Canyon and Mt Eden Rds.
During the Wet Season: Trails are open, but the creek crossings may not be viable without wading.
Directions: Foothill Rd. South exit from I-280. The road changes name to Stevens Canyon Rd. We have the ride start where there is parking available along the reservoir near the Lakeside Picnic Area. A link to the parking location in Google Maps is here. There is limited parking 0.9 mile further up Stevens Canyon Rd. at several places near the intersection of Stevens Canyon Rd. and Eden Canyon Rd., but each of these lots holds 3-5 vehicles and are often filled on a weekend.