What you need to know
Location Activities
Preserve Information
Opened in mid-2015, the 348-acre Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve reveals its beauty from the four-mile Arrowhead Loop Trail. As the first protected open space in the valley, this preserve marked the start of success for a collective effort by POST and our partners to safeguard this critically important landscape.
Watch for:
Coyotes, bobcats, mule deer, turkey vultures, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks.
Our Favorite Hike in Coyote Valley
Distance: 4 miles round trip (see map below)
Elevation change: 575 feet
Hiking time: 2 – 3 hours
Trail surface: Dirt
Best Season: All year, warm in summer on exposed sections
Parking lot location: Click here for directions
Though we try to keep this page accurate, please see the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s website before visiting for the latest information.
Overview:
Located 20 miles south of San Jose, the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve offers spectacular views of Coyote Valley and the Diablo Mountain range. It is also home to a plethora of wildlife, so bring your camera.
The Arrowhead Loop Trail is the only trail leading through this preserve. You can hike the entire loop (four miles) or choose to hike sections of the trail.
One of our favorite places in this preserve is the vista point 1.7-miles from the parking area. It’s a bit of a climb, but the views of Coyote Valley and surrounding mountains are worth the effort. To get there, follow the trail clockwise from the parking area.
Make sure to bring your binoculars and look for soaring raptors and elusive mammals such as bobcats and coyotes. Also, early March through April is the best time to see wildflowers in this preserve!
Recent Photos
The Backstory
The valley floor of Coyote Valley, close to this preserve, is the last intact valley floor connection between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range — a “last chance landscape” connecting over 1.13 million acres of life-sustaining habitat and serving as a lifeline for our conservation work in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
After decades of debate over land use, POST, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and the City of San Jose partnered to protect 937 acres at the northern end of Coyote Valley in 2019. This critical wildlife linkage is now protected in perpetuity, and we continue to build upon this work and safeguard more of this critical valley floor habitat.
Learn more here.