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Home Get Involved Wonders & Wanders Almaden Quicksilver |
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Almaden Quicksilver County Park
Overview Basics
Getting There Public Transit: From the San Jose (Diridon) CalTrain station, take Santa Clara Transit bus #63 to the stop on Camden Ave at McAbee Rd. Walk south on McAbee Rd. 0.6 miles to the park entrance.
In the 1820s, a Mexican settler discovered ore deposits in this area, but the deposits weren’t identified as mercury until 1845. That same year the Quicksilver Mining Company set up operation to provide mercury to gold and silver miners in the Sierras, who used mercury as a reducing agent to separate the precious metals from ore. The area was called Almaden after a mine of that name in Spain. The Gold Rush of 1849 significantly increased demand for mercury, and miners descended on this area in droves. By 1865, there were 700 buildings and a population of 1,800 in the area. In its time, it was the richest mercury mine in North America and the most profitable in California history. By the late 1920s, the mercury deposits were largely depleted. The land changed hands a few times before Santa Clara County bought nearly 4,000 acres in 1973 and opened the area as a park. The preservation of Quicksilver Almaden inspired the County Historic District Zoning Ordinance, which in turn preserved the remaining buildings and cemetery of the old mining town. The California Pioneers of Santa Clara County spearheaded the preservation and several volunteer groups contributed to cleaning up Quicksilver Almaden.
After another 0.3 miles, you'll see the furnaces of the Senador Mine. You can read about the mine's structures and history on the plaque. The path continues uphill next to the creekbed. Keep your eyes peeled for wild turkeys, deer, and other wildlife, which are abundant in this park. About 0.8 miles into this hike, you'll see the Guadalupe Trail coming in to connect with the Senador Trail. Don't make a hairpin turn, but rather, continue straight. You should see a stone bench where you can take a breather and enjoy the view of the Los Capitancillos Ridge, the scenic hills that separate Blossom Valley from Almaden Valley. This ridge is part of the Santa Cruz Mountains of the Coastal Range, formed 30 million years ago by the sliding interaction of the interlocking plates that underlie North America and the Pacific Ocean.
Continue uphill from the reservoir. You'll see another hairpin where the trail splits. Take the right-hand fork here and continue on the Mine Hill Trail toward Bull Run. Don't head back toward the McAbee Street entrance quite yet. Just 300 yards further down the fire road, you'll see yet another trail split where the Mine Hill Trail and the Randol Mine Trail connect. Take special note of it, because you'll be rejoining the Randol Mine Trail. It's a slightly more direct way to get back to the trailhead than simply retracing your steps. For now, continue uphill towards Bull Run on the Mine Hill Trail. In the springtime ths area is bursting with wildflowers like dragon's tongue and poppy. You'll soon enter another patch of shade, and here, at 3.1 miles, the trail splits into either Mine Hill Trail or Providenciana Trail. Stay on Mine Hill unless you'd like to see the reservoir again. Providenciana is a very steep spur trail, although it does go past a pond and the entrance to an old mine, so unless you're gung-ho about more hiking, you may want to save your energy.
Traditionally, development that isn't properly planned leapfrogs outward from city centers. Frequently, those city centers are allowed to deteriorate while funding goes to building new sewers, water pipes, and electricity lines in outlying areas. Here, as elsewhere, development starts creeping uphill when space in the valley becomes scarce, unnecessarily threatening hiking areas and other open spaces that we enjoy since there are still opportunities for infill development within already developed areas. The Prospect #3 Trail dead-ends into a fire road. Take a left and head north on this fire road. You're now back on the Randol Mine Trail. If you look into the brush on either side, you may be lucky enough to spot a blacktail deer. Also look for chaparral such as manzanita and chamise. After 1.6 miles from where the Prospect #3 Trail meets the fire road 6.1 miles into the hike, you'll again join the Mine Hill Trail, but this time for just about 200 yards. At the next junction, follow the wide Mine Hill Trail to the right where it splits from the Guadalupe Trail. Follow it through patches of sun and shade towards the McAbee Road entrance. You may spot more wild turkey or quail along the way. You'll also have great views of some more space-hungry housing developments. Beware of the Cinnabar Trail turnoff which goes to the right at 6.5 miles. Also watch out for where the Guadalupe and New Almaden Trails intersect the Mine Hill Trail at 7.5 miles. At this intersection, though, there's a nice stone bench that is a great place for a last rest and water break. When you get up, take the right-most fork, which is still the Mine Hill Trail, and walk the last half mile back to the McAbee Road entrance. While sprawl may seem to be the rule here on the suburban fringe, there's good news in San Jose proper. Downtown San Jose is being revitalized by several good mixed-use developments, in which developers try to assemble housing, retail, schools and workplaces in one relatively compact, walkable space—rather than segregating housing from everything else and forcing residents to drive everywhere.
Visitors with kids who might not be able to do a strenuous hike might want to just walk to the Senador Mine and back—a two-mile jaunt that still lets the young ones get the flavor of Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Bikes are only allowed in the southern half of the park, not in the area through which this hike travels. View photos at the Wildflowers
of Almaden Quicksilver County Park website. There are lots of photos and more park info on Ron Horii's Almaden Quicksilver site. Bay Area Hiker has additional info on the park.
By using this hiking guide, you agree to our terms and conditions. |
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Access
to the trail is through a gate, beyond which you'll see a paved road.
Walk uphill on this road alongside the dry creekbed for about a quarter
of a mile, at which point the paved road changes to a dirt fire-road.
Follow the Senador Mine Trail to the right of the information board. Continue
uphill, but don't get distracted by the fork that veers off to the left—stay
on the Senador Mine Trail.
Continue
downhill on the Guadalupe Trail. You'll soon meet up with Guadalupe
Creek, which flows year-round, at the park's western boundary. Go through
the beautiful oak grove directly in front of you and continue over the
rolling hills until you see the Guadalupe Reservoir. Due to contamination
from previous mercury mining, you can't swim or boat here, but you can
do catch-and-release fishing. Do NOT eat your catch, though, as it is
too contaminated.
Continue
walking. The tree canopy opens up a bit and you'll see a great view
of San Jose. At this point you can face north to see the contrast between
the pristine wilderness on the surrounding hills (including Mt. Umunhum,
to the west) with the developed lands in the valley to the north and east.
Beautiful open spaces like the one you're standing in are available for
recreational use and wildlife habitat because people like you decided
to protect and preserve them. It's having places like this within a stone's
throw of residential communities that help make the Bay Area such a great
place to live.
As
you descend the Prospect #3 Trail and emerge into open fields, you'll
notice a swath of development that's bitten off more space than it needed.
Done right, development can offer a variety of housing choices for everyone
who wants to live in the Bay Area. Done wrong, it can eat up space, cost
taxpayers millions in unnecessary new infrastructure, and amplify traffic
and pollution impacts.