In the East Bay, you can head south via a driving route that parallels
that of Anza and his exploratory band of soldiers.
Contra Costa County
From the northeastern portion of Contra
Costa County, follow CA 4 east until the town of Oakley and
then follow CA 4 south through Brentwood (Brentwood Blvd. to Byron
Highway).When CA 4 makes a sharp left turn east, continue straight
(south) on Byron Highway (County Road J4) to Byron. At Mountain
House Rd., exit County Road J4 and turn right (south).
Alameda County
Travel south on Mountain House Road. At the junction of Altamont
Pass Road, continue south on Midway Road. At Midway, turn right
(west) on Patterson Pass Road to Cross Road. Turn left (south) on
Cross Road to its intersection with Tesla Road. Turn right (west)
on Tesla Road/County Road J2 to Mines Road. At Mines Road, turn
left (south). Follow Mines Rd. to the Santa Clara County line where
it becomes San Antonio Valley Road.
Santa Clara County
Continue south on San Antonio Valley Rd. until it makes a sharp
right (westward) turn. At this point, the historic route continues
south to meet Coyote Creek and follow it through Henry
Coe State Park. The auto tour route continues on roadways. Continue
west on San Antonio Valley Road/CA 130, which passes over Mount
Hamilton (elevation 4209 ft.), to Alum Rock Avenue. Make a left
turn at Alum Rock Avenue, which is the continuation of CA 130 to
US 101. From here, one can join north or south on the auto route.
For the latter, turn south on US 101 through Morgan Hill and San
Martin. To continue in this county and visit Henry Coe State Park,
please see below.
Download a finer
resolution map of this portion of the trail in pdf format
(310Kb).
Driving Directions for Auto Route (continued)
Continuing in Santa Clara County
If you would like to bypass Henry Coe State Park, then simply continue
on 101. If, however, you would like to visit the park, take the
Leavesley exit east off 101. At New Avenue, turn left (north). At
Roop Road, turn right (east). Follow Roop Road to Gilroy Hot Springs
Road. Turn left on Gilroy Hot Springs Road to the intersection of
Cañada Road. Continue on Gilroy Hot Springs Road to the Hunting
Hollow entrance to Henry Coe State Park, where you can hike parallel
to the historic route of the expedition along Coyote Creek and see
their noontime stop at Los Cruzeros. Turn right (south) on
Cañada Road and follow it south and west. In this section,
the road follows the historic route. At Ferguson Road (Pacheco Pass
Highway), turn left (south) to Bloomfield Avenue/County Road G7.
At Bloomfield Avenue/ County Road G7, turn right (west). At the
intersection of CA 25 turn right (west) to US 101. From there, you
can go south to San
Benito County, or to the northern portion of Santa
Clara County.
About
Your Visit to Anza's Bay Area Back Country
Anza and the small band of soldiers started their return trip
to Monterey in April of 1776 after their exploration of the
East Bay area. He received a warm welcome by the American
Indians at each end of this segment, and he gave colored beads
to each of these tribes. You can follow part of their path
by driving the Juan
Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in Eastern Contra
Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties.
Sites of Interest
A. East Bay Regional Park District and
Expedition Camp #101
There are several places to access the Delta
de Anza Regional Trail of the East
Bay Regional Park District. The Antioch/Oakley
Regional Shoreline contains the area of Camp #101. It
is commemorated with a plaque placed on the edge of the shore
on the east side of the fishing pier. On April
3, 1776 a Bay Miwok Village of the Julpun was visited
nearby. Father Font writes, "…we came to a good-sized village,
whose Indians, who in color and all other respects are like
the rest, welcomed us as friends although timidly…We stopped
for a while at this village, whose huts were not of grass
and dilapidated like those we had seen during this journey,
but rather large, round, and well made, like those [Chumash]
of the Channel …"
B. Livermore Valley and Expedition Camp
#102
Father Font writes on April
4, 1776, "…we came to some bare hills…From the top of
them we saw at our right a spacious valley [Livermore Valley]
formed by the hills which we were crossing and those which
on going to the mouth of Puerto Dulce we had on our
right…we descended from the top of the hills [Patterson Pass].
We continued through them for about two leagues to
the southwest and entered other hills, which are the beginning
of the sierra which we afterward crossed…and having traveled
through them some two leagues to the south-southwest we halted
on a small elevation near a cañada in which
a little water was found." The location of the camp is near
Tesla Rd. south of Livermore. 1 league = 2.56 miles.
C.Henry
Coe State Park and Expedition Camps #103 & #104
On the return trip to Monterey, the route closely follows
the eastern Santa Clara county line after entering from the
north. It passes through the beautiful San Antonio Valley,
and then to the East Fork of Coyote Creek near Henry Coe State
Park. This is the second largest California State Park next
to Anza Borrego. Trails within it include a two-mile segment
near Los Cruzeros, Anza's mid-day stop. Anza called
the Mt. Hamilton range the Sierra del Chasco, which
translates as the mountains of disappointment. Apparently,
he was disappointed as to how long it took to cross these
rugged mountains. Camps #103 and #104 are near the park's
northern and southern borders, respectively. Camp #104 is
near Cañada Rd. at the confluence of Coyote
Creek and Cañada de los Osos. It was near here that
American Indians greeted them again. Font's Diary of April
7, 1776, Easter Sunday, states, "...When we finished our
descent, some ten or twelve Indians came out on the road to
salute us, from a village which was near there on the banks
of a lagoon. They gave us amole and two fish from the
lagoon…In return for them, the commander gave the Indians
some glass beads..." This group was likely from the Mutsun
tribe. More can be learned about this tribe at Chitactac-Adams
Heritage County Park (Hwy 152 east to Watsonville Rd.;
north of Gilroy in Santa Clara County).
Learning
On The Trail in the Mt. Diablo Range
Additional Resources
Delta de Anza Regional Trail and East Bay
Regional Park District - P.O. Box 5381, Oakland, CA 94605-0381;
tel.: 925-625-5479,
web: ebparks.org
Livermore Heritage Guild, Carnegie Library Building - P.O.
Box 961, Livermore, CA 94551;
tel.: 925-449-9927,
web: livermorehistory.com
Henry Coe State Park - 9000 East Dunne Ave., Morgan Hill,
CA 95037;
tel.: 408-779-2728,
web: coepark.org
Over the past 10,000 years, the region between Monterey and San
Francisco was occupied by successive generations of American Indians
who adapted to the diverse ecosystems of the coast, mountains, and
interior valleys. With the expansion of the Spanish Empire into
Alta California after 1769, the development of these native societies
changed dramatically within a fifty year period as individuals were
placed in various Missions. During early contact, the Spaniards
referred to the inhabitants of the Monterey Bay area as Costeños
or People of the Coast. Around the San Francisco Bay region, other
tribal groups were encountered speaking similar dialects that language
scholars later classified as Costanoan. Descendants prefer
to use "Ohlone" as a term applying only to the tribe around the
village of Oljon between today's Santa Cruz and San Francisco. At
left is shown a map with some of the pre-Spanish contact village
names reconstructed from Mission records.