Find the top rated birding trails in Monterey, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Stevens Creek Trail has an additional 3 mile segment called the Stevens Creek/Tony Look Trail through Stevens Creek County Park. It follows the eastern shore of the reservoir and unlike the lower portions of SCT it is unpaved. This section is suitable for walking and jogging.
There is also a new 4 mile segment of Stevens Creek Trail through Montebello OSP, starting near the source of the actual Stevens Creek. This trail segment starts at the Page Mill Road parking lot for Montebello OSP and goes downhill towards Stevens Canyon Road. The trail surface is hard-packed dirt, appropriate for road biking, horseback riding, running, and walking.
I did this ride on Sunday afternoon, September 8, 2924, in 102 degrees. No joke. Must explain why it wasn’t very busy. I started at Anderson Lake County Park in Morgan Hill and went to Tully Road, just past the golf course south of downtown San Jose, and then turned around and returned to the park—40 miles, 1,190 feet elevation gain. Well maintained, all paved, relatively flat, and interesting trail with SO many squirrels and chipmunks dashing across the trail. Probably just playing with the bikers. Saw a flock of young turkeys on the trail. A hawk zipped close by me and tried to grab a rodent (missed). Lots of waterfowl in the ponds along the way. Vegetation became greener the further north I went from Morgan Hill, and more water in Coyote Creek. Saw coyote scat on the trail but no animals (too hot for them). There are several homeless campsites near the golf course, and even a rooster and cats and dogs. Overall, a great trail to see the arid landscape of the Santa Clara Valley (I live in the Pacific Northwest). Will plan to do it again in the springtime when it’s greener and not so hot, when I visit relatives again.
Very short, one mile walking both ways. Too many homeless trash piles. Parking was questionable since it housed homeless vehicles and I had to hurry my child pass the van with drug smoke pouring out. The drive down Willow Street was lovely along the way to this location, we should have just parked there and walked along the tree lined streets instead. Very unfortunate.
The trail is great for bikes, runners, and dogs on a leash. The ocean views are amazing, and the freshness of it is nice while running.
Trail is nice and well maintained but in the broad daylight, kind of shady with a considerable presence of homeless people by the Tully trailhead. Even carrying pepper spray, as a smaller young woman I felt kind of unsafe and was approached. The northern part of the trail (passes by a bunch of Amazon warehouses) does not have this issue but the stretch is much shorter. Would not come back here alone, or maybe at all. It’s a shame,because the trail itself is great, mostly flat, and scenic. Too Bad s
I've mostly ridden the section between Hellyer Park and the Coyote Creek visitor center / Malaguerra Ave (great free parking). A superb ride with far less traffic than the Los Gatos trail. A couple of weeks ago I parked at the Tully Rd lot and took it south. I was a little creeped out about leaving my truck there and the number of homeless encampments from Tully south about a mile. I won't do that again. Another good parking place is the free dirt lot "Coyote Creek Trail Parking at Metcalf" on google maps.
Riders and walkers be on ALERT!!!! Encountered two rattlesnakes on the trail but love all 44 miles of the trail. Great trail to disconnect from the urban concrete streets of San Jose. Oh yeah, nature at its BEST!!
We didn't like the thought of leaving our car at the Castroville end loaded with stuff for a weekend trip, so we drove a short ways to Marina State Beach and started there. It's a short ride on not-too-busy streets to meet up with the trail just north of the Fort Ord section.
Loved the wide, uncrowded Fort Ord area and enjoyed the ocean views in the Sand City area, though some of that sand on the trail was pretty thick. The trail gets fairly crowded as you get into Monterey so we only took it as far as the wharf, about 10 miles from Marina Beach.
A beautiful ride, on our list of places to go again.
Good for walking & jogging but too busy for bicycles, skateboards, scooters. The street along side has a lot of traffic without a bike path so not very biker friendly. It's popular with pedestrians & dogs strolling along probably because there's an entrance to a dog friendly beach along the route. A lot of the route is along the top of a bluff with beach below so it gets very windy and can be cold if not sunny. Beaches are narrow & rocky and more for surfing. The path is nicely paved making it easy to walk.
This is a fantastic, scenic trail that is very protected for bikes. Can't wait to ride it again.
Being on this trail is a lovely escape from the city streetscape. In the works now is County action to close the cement plant at the end of the RR spur this trail adjoins. When that happens, there is a County adopted plan for the trail to extend all the way from Los Gatos to Rancho San Antonio Open Space!
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