Henry W. Coe Backcountry
Morgan Hill (South Bay) · near Morgan Hill · SF Bay Area
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 18 miles
- Elevation gain
- 4,000 ft
- Time needed
- overnight
- Best season
- Spring (wildflowers, flowing creeks) and fall · Brutally hot and dry in summer; green in winter
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Self-register backcountry permit at park HQ for overnight trips (fee); day hiking needs only the park day-use fee. Northern California's largest state park — carry a map and plenty of water.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Northern California's largest state park (87,000 acres) · Relentless ridge-and-canyon terrain · China Hole & Poverty Flat swimming holes · Spring wildflowers & solitude
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Go in spring for wildflowers and flowing creeks — summer is dangerously hot and dry with little water. Carry far more water than you expect, and pick up the self-register backcountry permit at HQ.
The guide
Henry W. Coe is the Bay Area's great backcountry wilderness — 87,000 acres of steep, wild ridge-and-canyon country behind Morga…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Henry W. Coe Backcountry — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.1866, -121.5486