Morgan Hill / Gilroy
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Henry Coe is an enormous 87,000 acre state park covering an area nearly as large as the city of San Jose. There are 120 miles of single track and 130 miles of dirt roads open to bikes. You read that right; 250 miles of trails. The single track is all relatively natural; you will find no man made technical trail features, no flow trails, no banked turns. You will find a variety of challenging single tracks winding through canyons, traversing steep hillsides through switchbacks, and often just going straight up (or down) those same steep hillsides. Which brings us to some of the challenges of this great park. Most of the trails are strenuous. The trails are strenuous enough to often be described as steep, steeper, and ridiculously steep. Henry Coe is intense and extreme; extreme distance, extreme steepness, extreme heat in the summer. A mountain biker was once featured on network news after being lost in Henry Coe for three days. But on the positive side, Henry Coe is also extremely fun and challenging, if the rider is in good physical shape and prepared.
- It is best to have topo maps and to learn how to read them, as many of the trails are too steep to ride in the uphill direction. There is often a less steep route to the top of any ridge, you just need to find it. Then the descent can be on a steep trail.
- It is best to start out with small rides, then build on them the next time you visit the park. Although there are four entrances to the park, many of the trails are simply too far into the interior to get to in a day.
- It is best to be prepared for heat. Henry Coe can get very hot. Bring twice as much water as you normally carry and bring food. There is no potable water once you leave the Park Headquarters.
- Few of the trails are maintained and many of the single tracks are very narrow. Park rangers and trail advocate groups call some trails “bike-hike” trails, meaning you will need to push or carry your bike at times. Know your ability and start with less distance than you normally ride.
- Watch out for rain. Some of the creeks in the park can be wide and deep after a rain.
Keeping all these precautions in mind, Henry Coe can be a blast for the riders of intermediate skill level and up. Unfortunately, there really is just one route suitable for beginners, which we call the Easy Ride. The other recommended routes leave from one of three park entrances accessible from Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Trails deeper in the park require Bike-packing and a backcountry camping permit. Do not confuse this park with Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park outside of Felton. Cowell has big trees, and very different trails. Restrooms are at the parking lots and, surprisingly, scattered around the park.
During the wet season: Single track trails are closed to bikes for 48 hours after a 0.5 inch rain. Otherwise all trails are open.
Directions: The Headquarters entrance is 16 miles east of US 101 in Morgan Hill. Take East Dunne Ave to the end. Our recommended 1000 Footer route and Big Ride route both start at park Headquarters. A link to the parking location for these rides in Google Maps is here. There are two additional entrances on Gilroy Hot Springs Road at either Hunting Hallow parking lot or at Coyote Creek roadside parking. Hunting Hallow is where the Easy Ride begins. A link to the parking location for Hunting Hollow in Google Maps is here. Coyote Creek is where the Medium Ride begins. A link to the parking location for Coyote Creek in Google Maps is here. A fourth entrance is at Bell Station, 6 miles east of Casa de Fruta on State Route 152, but is beyond a 45 minute drive from San Jose.