One of the bas-reliefs at
the Parque de los Pobladores
honoring Anza expedition
members
Photo: Greg Smestad
Driving Directions
for Auto Route
Anza entered the county three times. To follow his
northern route from San
Benito County, take US 101 to CA 85 north. To visit
the Peralta
Adobe, take Guadalupe Pkwy/Hwy 87 north, and take
the Julian/Saint James Street exit to Julian Street.
At the bottom of the off ramp, turn right on Terraine
St. Turn left into the parking lot on the corner of
West Saint John Street. To go on to Mission
Santa Clara, take The Alameda westward until it
becomes El Camino Real; the mission is at 500 El Camino
Real. Continue on El Camino Real, turn south on the
San Tomas Expressway and go west on I-280. Stop in Cupertino
near camp #93.
Continue west on I-280 to CA 85 north toward Mountain
View. Take the CA 82/El Camino Real exit and take El
Camino Real north. Stop at El Palo Alto. Continue north
to San
Mateo, or travel to the East Bay through Santa Clara
via CA 237 east past I-880 to Warm Springs Road. Turn
left (north) on Warm Springs Road. Continue north on
Warm Springs/North Milpitas Rd. into Alameda
County. To travel in the eastern part of the county
near Mt. Hamilton, see the section of the Trail Guide
called "Getting
Back/Mt. Diablo Range".
About Your
Visit to Santa Clara County
Anza's small exploratory group traveled past the area
that is today Gilroy, encountering many American Indians
along their route. After choosing the sites for the Mission
and Presidio in San Francisco, they returned to
the county again on their way to the East Bay. Lt. Moraga
came through Santa Clara County again in June 1776 with
the settlers to found the San Francisco Presidio. In November
1777, he and some of those settlers founded the Pueblo
of San José near the Guadalupe River.
Sites of Interest
A. Chitactac-Adams Heritage County
Park and Expedition Camp #92
The camp for March
24, 1776 was at Llagas Creek in the city of Morgan
Hill. Along the way, many natives (and a village) were
encountered. At Chitactac-Adams
Park (10001 Watsonville Rd., Gilroy), you can visit
a Mutsun Ohlone village site along Uvas Creek to view
petroglyphs, bedrock mortars and interpretive exhibits
about the Ohlone culture. Nearby is DeBell
Uvas Creek Park Preserve.
B. San Joseph de Cupertino and
Expedition Camp #93
On March
25, they camped at place that they called San Joseph
de Cupertino, a name that is preserved today in the
city of Cupertino to the east. From here, Font and Anza
remarked that they could see the San Francisco Bay.
Today, from McClellan
Ranch Park (22221 McClellan Rd.) or on the "knoll"
at Rancho
San Antonio County Park (on Cristo Rey Dr.), visitors
have vistas that extend to the bay.
C. Loop Around to the East Bay
via Expedition Camp #97
Anza and the exploratory group came back to Santa Clara
county on their way back from S.F. en route to explore
the East Bay. Father Font measured El Palo Alto
by using a device that measures angles, together with
some trigonometry. This 'tall redwood tree' still stands
today (El Camino Real at Alma St., Palo Alto). After
traveling south parallel along the shoreline from Palo
Alto, camp for March
30 (#97) was on the banks of the Río de
Guadalupe (Guadalupe
River). At the 40 acre Ulistac
Natural Area (37º 24' 09" N 121º 58' 04" W), currently
being restored, visitors can see willows, sycamores,
and elderberry. Trails in the San
Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near its
education center near Alviso
can also be explored.
D. San José de Guadalupe
and Adobes of Expedition Descendants
Named after the patron saint of the expedition, the
Virgen de Guadalupe, San José was the first civilian
Spanish settlement in California. It was founded in
November of 1777 by Lt. Moraga and a handful of Anza's
settlers. Around 1797, the settlers built adobes around
a central plaza that is today Plaza de César
Chávez. Several abodes (including adobes) of
expedition members and descendants can be seen in the
Santa Clara Valley including: Joaquín Bernal's
(at Santa
Teresa County Park), Fernando Berryessa's (373 Jefferson
St. near Mission Santa Clara), Luis María Peralta's
(175 W. Saint John St.) (click
to see photo of Peralta Adobe), José Higuera's
(North Park Victoria Dr., Milpitas) and José
Maria Alviso's (Piedmont and Calaveras Rds. in Milpitas).
E. Henry Coe State Park and Expedition
Camps #103 and #104
Los Cruzeros was a stop on Anza's southbound route getting
back to Monterey from the East Bay. The camp is within
Henry
Coe State Park, as are campgrounds and a visitors
center. To reach the park, take the East Dunne Ave.
or Leavesley Rd. exits east and follow the signs to
the park.
Learning On The Trail in Santa Clara County
Additional Resources
Santa Clara County Parks - 298 Garden
Hill Dr., Los Gatos, CA 95032;
tel.: 408-355-2200,
web: parkhere.org
Guadalupe River Park - 715 Spring St.,
San Jose, CA 95110;
tel.: 408-298-7657,
web: grpg.org
Parque de Los Pobladores - S. Market
St. at W. William St., San Jose, CA 95113;
web: sjparks.org
Peralta Adobe - 175 W. Saint John St.,
San Jose, CA 95110;
tel.: 408-993-8300,
web: historysanjose.org
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
- 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95053 1500;
tel.: 408-554-4023,
web: scu.edu/mission
El Palo Alto Park - (El Camino Real
at Alma St.) Palo Alto, CA 94301;
tel.: 650-329-2100,
web: cityofpaloalto.org
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National
Wildlife Refuge - Highway 237 to Zanker Rd to Grand
Blvd. (in Alviso);
tel.: 408-262-5513,
web: desfbay.fws.gov
Henry Coe State Park - 9000 E. Dunne
Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037;
tel.: 408-779-2728,
web: coepark.org
Hiking in Santa
Clara County
Although the area is highly urbanized today,
there are still many trails to explore that parallel
Anza's route. Henry
Coe State Park is over 87,000 acres, making
it the second largest state park in California
next to Anza-Borrego. The trails at Henry Coe
allow you to hike along Coyote Creek and see their
noontime stop at Los Cruzeros. The Ridge Trails
allow you to overlook the historic route. Anza-related
parks in Santa Clara County include the Ulistac
Natural Area, DeBell
Uvas Creek Park Preserve, Chitactac-Adams
Heritage County Park, Guadalupe
River Park and Rancho
San Antonio County Park. The San
Francisco Bay Trail segments will get you
close to the route the expedition took as it looped
around Alviso to explore the East Bay. Ponds and
marshes along the Mountain
View Shoreline Park and Sunnyvale
Baylands Park offer waterfowl and shorebird
habitats. The Guadalupe
River and Coyote Creek both empty into the
bay at the southern end of the San
Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge near
its Alviso
education center. After visiting the Refuge or
Henry Coe Park - Question: Coyotes are often seen
in Coyote Valley south of San Jose and at Henry
Coe State Park. What could they eat now and in
Anza's time?
Sierra del Chasco at Henry Coe State Park
Photo: Greg Smestad
On the CD: Henry
Coe State Park
Anza's exploratory party passed through the park on
their way from the East Bay back to Monterey. Anza's
Diary, Saturday, April
6, 1776 reads, "…To this place, as well as to all
of the foregoing country, we have given the name of
Sierra del Chasco, because of the disappointment it
has played on us by its difficult passage due to its
width, which nobody had anticipated. From here we have
recognized the road by which we came…" In Henry Coe
State Park, Los Cruzeros was a stop on Anza's southbound
route back to Monterey. They went down the east fork
of the Coyote Creek to end up near Gilroy. Today, there
are campgrounds in Henry Coe State Park, and visitors
often see raccoons, bobcats, woodpeckers, wild turkeys
and coyotes.
Play MP3 file of Henry
Coe State Park
About Henry Coe State Park; Sounds of Horses Crossing
Coyote Creek; Santa Clara Crickets
(playing time 4 minutes and 8 seconds)