Henry Coe State Park, CA
At around 88,000 acres, Henry Coe State Park is the second largest state park in California. It is within the greater San Francisco Bay Area located to the east of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. In spite of its size and proximity, few people in the Bay Area have even been aware of its existence, though that may change due to the Lick fire that started there on Labor Day, September 3, 2007.
The first time I went there was in September 2006. I arrived mid-afternoon and did a short hike up to the Ponderosa Loop, not far from the park’s main headquarters. My first impression was of a hot, dry, and dusty place and I wasn’t sure if I liked it. But I bought a map and talked to the park rangers and found that the park had a lot of hiking trails and I was just getting into hiking.
Since then I have returned to Henry Coe numerous times to hike and explore the park and it has grown on me to the point where of all the numerous parks in the Bay Area, it is flat out my favorite. I love Henry Coe State Park and now that I have explored some of its trails, I plan to explore it with my camera here.
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