Waterfall Dreamland

Taking advantage of the spring rainy season in the Bay Area, we swing back down to the Morgan Hill to visit the secretly nestled Uvas Canyon County Park. Here, the waters of Swanson’s creek undulate over a steep rocky bed to create numerous waterfalls ending with one last plunge merging into Uvas Creek.

Uvas Canyon has been closed for most of the year due to road damage from last year’s deluge of rain. Luckily, right after the recent “atmospheric river” passed through the Bay Area dumping 5 inches of rain, Uvas Canyon County Park is now open.

Most of the falls are accessible through the easy to hike waterfalls loop trail. This guide makes a larger loop through the Contour trail with a spur to see the Triple Falls.

Secret tip: Don’t miss the Lower Falls where Swanson’s creek meets Uvas Creek. Starting at the Black Oak Group area, take the Swanson’s Creek Trail along the Swanson’s creek, towards the toll entrace direction. Round trip is about 3/4 miles with some elevation change.

Uvas Canyon Essential Info

Distance: 5 mi
Time: 3hr
Net Elevation: 2100 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Hours: 8am – sunset
Parking Fee: $6 per vehicle, reservations required on weekends and holidays
Pets: Dogs ok on leash
Website: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/pages/uvascanyon.aspx
Address: 8515 Croy Rd Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Phone: (408) 779-9232

Getting There

Uvas Canyon is located in Morgan Hill, about 20 miles south of San Jose, and just over an hours drive from the East Bay, depending on which part you’re in.

From the East Bay, take 680S to 101S.

After about 12mi, exit Bailey Rd.  Follow Bailey Rd for about 3 miles all the way to a T intersection and make a left turn onto McKean Rd.

Follow McKean for 6 miles and turn right onto Croy Rd.

Croy road will eventually lead into a collection of properties at Sveadal. Continue onwards until you reach the park entrance and toll kiosk.

The Trail

Checkpoint: Start

The trail conveniently starts out from the parking lot and bathrooms where you can stretch out after a long car ride.

Pickup a Waterfall Loop trail guide which describes various flora along the trail designated by numbered signs.

When you’re ready, proceed further up, past the Black Oak picnic area, to the first waterfall.

Checkpoint: Granuja Falls

Cross the bridge across the creek and continue onto the Waterfalls Loop trail. After only 1/3 mile, you’ll come across the lower portion of Blackrock falls.

Checkpoint: Blackrock Falls

Walk about 20 ft further to find the spur to reach the upper portions of Black Rock falls.

Return to the main trail from Blackrock falls and continue up the Waterfalls trail a short distance along the creek. You’ll pass by Myrtle Flats to a Y junction. Take the right hand side to Basin Falls.

Checkpoint: Basin Falls

Go back down to the Y junction and then take the left side to visit Upper Falls.

Checkpoint: Upper Falls

After absorbing the grandeur of Upper Falls, continue along Contour Trail climbing towards the top of the falls. The trail begins to steepen at this point so if you want to take it easy, you can also call it a day by returning to the Waterfall Loop trail.

The Contour trail follows Swanson Creek upwards. Here, Swanson Creek demonstrates its adroitness down the steep, rocky grade, forming rivulets and dancing down the many diversions in its way.

The contour trail departs from the creek and winds its way under the canopy of trees.

Bending around the hillside, you’ll reach a bent douglas fir tree.

Checkpoint: Bent Tree

The tree marks approximately the half way point between the Upper Falls and Triple Falls.

Continue along the trail until you hit the Alec Canyon trail and turn right. The trail will reach a clearing with a bench to sit and gaze from Manzanita Point.

Checkpoint: Manzanita Point

Continue down the Contour trail until you hit a signed Y intersection. The right side will take you to Triple Falls.

Checkpoint: Triple Falls

At the time of this writing, the last 100ft of the trail suffered from severe erosion and, while passable, required delicate footwork to reach the base of the falls.

From here, return along the same route. When you hit the intersection with the Contour Trail, remain on the Alec Canyon Trail to return back to the entrance.

Bonus: Lower Falls

Once you return to the parking lot, you can take enter the Black Oak Group Area and begin the Swanson Creek trail. It takes you through a wonderful shaded trail that ends up at the intersection of the Uvas and Swanson Creek.

Here, Swanson Creek makes its final waterfall into a small pool that merges with Uvas creek.

Other Waterfall Hikes

Love hiking next to the constant rustle of flowing water and churning waterfalls? Try Berry Creek falls and the Golden cascades in Big Basin. Or Alamere Falls in Point Reyes.

Wildflowers and Flora

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Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

Length: 7-8 mi. (using the early bypass, 12mi for the full Alviso Trail)
Elevation: 258 ft. Gradual.
Time: ~4 hrs
Difficulty: Easy (flat)
Dog are generally prohibited on the trails in this part of Don Edwards (some are allowed on leash in the Fremont region).

An Oddly Situated Gem

Hundreds of thousands of commuters on SR237 pass by the nation’s first urban national wildlife refuge every day. Lined with bustling development for Silicon Valley’s IT companies, the Bay trail and Coyote creek crossing provide hints of what lies close by.

Centuries of hunting, landfill, and development have drastically transformed the San Francisco Bay. Grizzly bears and tule elk once roamed across northern bay estuaries and birds came from all around the world to rest on their migratory routes. Tidal action along with salt and freshwater reactions cause sediments to accumulate at the mouths of feeding creeks and rivers. This in turn allows for a variety of plants and animals to thrive.

Be aware that duck hunting is allowed along the Mallard Slough and you’ll hear quite a bit of racket in the mornings during hunting season.

Common birds you’ll find in this area include the great egret, snowy egret, and the white pelican.

Don Edwards spans the entire south east of the bay with the main visitor center located in Fremont.

Bay Re-engineering

Starting with the Gold Rush, hydraulic mining caused massive deposits of sediment to fill in the bay. Further landfill deposition due to dredging and development further shrunk the SF Bay’s wetlands.

At the south side of the bay, Don Edwards provides access to estuaries fed by the Guadalupe river (re-directed to the Alviso Slough) and Coyote Creek outlets.

Salt Ponds

Remnants of old commercial salt evaporation ponds created by Leslie Salt and later bought by Cargill Corp partition off the refuge and delineate the levee trails.  While Cargill continues to operate in some portions of Don Edwards near Newark (the only evaporation based salt production left in the US) , the areas in the Alviso region are part of the South Bay Salt Restoration Project. This project aims to convert the salt ponds back into their former tidal wetlands. The first step towards reverting the ponds back to their native state is break down their artificial boundaries and allow water to freely move in and out withe the bay tide.

An Abandoned Ghost Town

The San Francisco Bay Areas only ghost town, Drawbridge is visible from the Mallard Slough Spur trail. Founded in the late 19th century by the South Pacific Coast Railroad to house operators of two drawbridges, the town’s last resident left in 1979. The drawbridges are long gone, but the railroad still carries Amtrak trains and the city hall is still left standing.

The Trails

Getting There

From the East Bay, take 880S to 237W. Take the first exit, Zanker Rd. Zanker will turn into Los Esteros Blvd and take you a few turns past a waste processing and landfill facility. Make a sharp right onto Grand Blvd.

From the West Bay, you can take 237E to 1st street, north (towards the bay). Make a right onto Grand Blvd.

Grand Blvd will take you to the entrance gate where the Marsh View Trail (a short hike to the Environmental Education Center) starts. Depending on the time of day (if the gate is closed or in danger of closing) proceed toward the Environmental Education center further along Grand Blvd.

Be aware that duck hunting is allowed along the Mallard Slough and you’ll hear quite a bit of racket in the mornings during hunting season.

1. Environmental Education Center

The Environmental Education Center is the starting point of the New Chicago Marsh trail. This short trail is on a boardwalk which brings you over the marsh.

2. New Chicago Marsh

After this pleasant stroll, you’ll come across the Mallard Slough Trail. Make a right here.

3. Mallard Slough Trail

The Mallard Slough trail brings you around roosting pelicans, and swaths of cat tail grass that lines the Mallard Slough. Duck hunters loiter in this area on their boats during hunting season and shotgun shots can be heard occasionally cracking through the air.

4. Observation Point

A small bulge in the trail forms a small peninsula, providing an immersive view of the wildlife resting on the tiny islands in the salt pond that are popular with the white pelicans.

With any amount of time spent in the refuge, you can’t fail to notice the Amtrak trains that still operate through the area.

5. Mallard Slough Spur

The spur trail brings you along the railroad tracks to the Coyote creek outlet and the last remnants of Drawbridge.

6. Draw Bridge

Ath the end of the spur trail, the Coyote creek flows by on its way into the bay. Across is the former city hall of Drawbridge.

The land across the creek is no longer open to the public. Guided tours are occasionally available by Ceal Craig who has a great slideshow here.

7. Alviso Slough Trail

The Alviso slough is the current outlet of the Guadalupe river which was diverted from it’s original outlet (the Guadalupe slough) to allow for easier access by boats. The 8.6 mi trail runs along the outer edges of the Coyote creek, to the Alviso Slough and then back again along the railroad tracks. A bypass through the salt ponds (which we took) allows for a much shorter alternative.

8. Tidal Gate

These tidal gates allowed the salt harvesting operators to control the water levels and salinity within the ponds. With the estuary restoration in progress, these gates should be locked open to allow natural tidal actions to propagate throughout the wetland.

9. Point of No Return

Joining the Alviso Slough and the Mallard Slough trails is only the one connector near the Mallard Slough spur (that diverts to view Drawbridge). To return to the Education Center, make sure to turn left at the railroad tracks. Although the Mallard and Alviso trails both run parallel to the railroad tracks, there is no way to cross between the two at any other point. Turning right, while offering some nice views of Levi Stadium, will bring you to Alviso Marina.

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