• Schedule
• Trail Information
• Map
• Notes about this hike
• General notes about hiking trips
• Pictures from previous hikes

• 7:45 AM.  Meet at Saratoga Plaza (Lions Plaza), outside the french Cafe/Bakery (Bijan).  Exact address is  441 Saratoga Ave, San Jose.  It's just off 280 and Saratoga Ave.  See map information below for more details.  We will determine carpool arrangements if necessary.
• 8:00 AM.  Leave for Henry Coe State Park.  It'll take about an hour to get there.
• 9:15 AM.  Start hiking the loop.
• 12:00 PM.  Stop at China Hole and have lunch!
• 3:00 PM.  Finish hiking the loop, head back down to Bijan.
• 4:00 PM.  Meet back at Bijan Bakery.

Park Location:  30 minutes off (13 miles from) 101 in east Morgan Hill.
Trail Name: China Hole Loop (via Madrone Soda Springs)
Trails taken for the loop: Lots! (from park's info page:)
                    Starting at the trailhead close to the stop sign, follow Corral Trail to the Springs
                  Trail junction.  Take the right fork and follow Springs Trail to its end at Manzanita Point
                  Road.  Go right on the road and keep going till you reach the Madrone Soda Springs
                  trailhead (across from Manzanita Point group campsite 7).  Go right on the Madrone Soda
                  Springs Trail, and watch your step as you hike down the trail.  It's steep and slippery in
                  places.  When you reach the creekbed, you've reached the site of the old resort.  You
                  might want to stay a while, look around, and picture the resort in its heyday.  Continue
                  along Madrone Soda Springs Creek on Mile Trail, which crosses the creekbed 12 times
                  (something to consider during winter and early spring when the creek might be flowing.)
                  You'll want to be on the lookout for Poison Oak, which flourishes along Mile Trail in all
                  seasons.  When you get to China Hole Trail, you can either head back up or go on about a
                  hundred feet to China Hole, a fine place to picnic and watch birds.  On your return trip, take
                  China Hole Trail back up to Manzanita Point and then follow Manzanita Point Road to the
                  junction with Forest Trail and Springs Trail.  At that point, you can continue on the road or
                  take one of the trails back to the visitor center.
Trail Location: Park Headquarters.
Distance: ~10 miles.
Elevation change: +/-1400 ft, starting elevation is about 2644 ft.
Time: ~5 to 7 hrs, depending on breaks taken.
Difficulty:  Moderate to strenuous
Trail conditions: Not too sure, but I think it's at least 50% shaded.  Weather information: Anderson Reservoir (3mi from park), current forecast for 10/7 is 73/sunny.
What to see: (from park's info page:) This moderately strenuous hike takes you to the site of an old mineral
        springs resort and to the park's most popular swimming hole, a mile farther along.
        Madrone Soda Springs Resort was a small health spa that thrived during the horse and
        buggy era.  There's not much left of the resort.  The buildings and the dance pavillion were
        dismantled during World War II, and the wood was hauled to the Central Valley and used to
        build houses during a time when wood was hard to come by.  Still remaining are a few
        concrete steps, fragments of foundation, and a stone cooler built into a hillside.  China Hole
        is a favorite destination for hikers during late spring and early summer.  The natural pool is
        often 20 feet wide and 7 to 8 feet deep.  It has a small, sandy beach and lots of big flat
        boulders for picnicking, sunning, and snoozing.

Park information: http://www.coepark.org/
Trail map (China Hole Loop): map, description

Bijan Bakery The Bijan bakery is in the Saratoga Square plaza (Lions Supermarket).  It is just off 280, a few miles south of 85 and a few miles north of 17.  This is our main meeting place where carpool will be arranged. Unless indicated otherwise, please meet here. 1. From 280 North or South, get off on Saratoga Ave, towards North (from 280 North, it would be right turn, from 280 South, it would be left turn).  2. Make a left on Kiely Blvd, it is about 1/4 mile from 280. 3.  Make a left into the plaza driveway.  You'll see a store with the sign "Bakery" closest to Kiely Rd.  Burger King is across the parking lot in the same plaze. 4.  We'll meet in front of the bakery, by some outdoor cafe tables.   Use this link to get directions from your starting point: Directions.

Henry Coe State Park headquarters Headquarters parking lot is about 1 hr from Bijan.  To get there, take 280 South, then turn onto 87 South, then 85 South, till merge with 101. Then go on 101 South for about 10 miles, then: (Taken directly from: http://www.coepark.org/directions.html)    Coe Park is in the Inner Coast Ranges east of Morgan Hill, a town about 15 miles south of San Jose on U.S. Highway 101.       Highway 101 has three Morgan Hill exits.  The middle one, East Dunne Avenue, is the one you take to get to the park.  Heading south on 101, take the exit, turn left at the stop light, and cross over 101. Heading north on 101, take the exit and turn right.       You'll be heading east and climbing into the hills through residential areas for the first three miles. At the top of the first ridge of hills, when you come to a Y in the road, look for a sign that says "Henry W. Coe State Park, 10 miles." You'll bear right at the Y.       The road crosses a bridge and follows alongside Anderson Reservoir for a ways. Then it turns into a narrow, winding, scenic mountain road. If you are meeting us here, please give yourself 1 hr 15 minutes to get to the park from Bijan and wait by park headquarters.  If you are considering meeting us at the park, please do let me know ahead of time, thanks! Email me at pthuang@aol.com Click here to get the directions to E. Dunne Ave from Binaj.  Or more information: http://www.coepark.org/directions.html

Trail Map
    The following is the trail map for China Hole Loop.  We may or may not actually end up hiking this trail.  Much depends on the weather and the number of people that attend the hike, as well as time constraints, if any.  We'll make a final decision once at the park.

• Bring 2 to 3 bottles of water.  Bring light lunch that's easy to carry- we'll be eating it about half way through the hike.
• Wear shorts and tee-shirts.  Bring sweatshirts and sweatpants just in case it's cold.  But as with other hikes, you'll warm up pretty quickly once we start hiking, especially on uphills.
• Please be on time for this hike - it'll take about an hour to get to the park so we need to start early.  We will try to leave Bijan by 8 am!
• If you have any questions, email me (pthuang@aol.com) or call me at (650) 814-1169 (cell).

• 1 to 2 bottles of water (I'll have extras if you forget)
• Suntan lotion (I'll have a bottle)
• Snacks - dried fruits, granola bars, etc.
• Sturdy shoes - hiking shoes or sneakers
• Sweatshirt/jacket (in case), sweatpants or shorts
• Hat (for sunny hikes)
• Money (for food if wanted)

-Break next week?