Meet at the parking lot at the boat ramp. The rangers will be supplying garbage bags. Bring gloves, lots of water, a hat, sturdy shoes. The task will be a general cleanup of the area and especially the shoreline, but high impact areas may also be targeted for small groups.
The Uvas Reservoir is located in the foothills below the Santa Cruz Mountains west of the City of Morgan Hill. The reservoir and park are accessible from U.S. Highway 101 or 85 via the scenic Uvas Road. Take the Bernal Road exit from U.S. 101 or 85 and proceed west about 0.2 miles to Monterey Highway south. Take Monterey Highway south 3.4 miles to Bailey Road. Turn right and follow Bailey Road 2.8 miles west over a ridge to McKean Road. Turn left on to McKean/Uvas Road (McKean Road becomes Uvas Road 2.2 miles south of Bailey Road) and travel south 10.1 miles to the Uvas Reservoir parking and boat launch area.
The Uvas Reservoir area was frequented by the Mutsun Ohlone Indians for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. Today's reservoir was once part of the 11,093 acre Rancho Las Uvas (meaning "Ranch of the grapes"), granted by Mexican Governor Alvarado to Lorenzo Pineda in 1842. The land later became patented under the American courts to Martin Murphy, an early pioneer of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. The lush valley was used for agriculture including plums. At the turn of the century a woman named Minnie Kell, or "Ma Kell", ran a campground in the Uvas Creek Valley, featuring a swimming hole, baseball diamond and dance floor. The construction of Uvas Dam and Reservoir in 1957 was part of a countywide effort by water officials to ensure adequate water supplies for the valley's growing population. Water from the reservoir is used to recharge supplies in underground aquifers, which will later be pumped from wells for residential, agricultural, and industrial uses. In 1960, the County Parks and Recreation Department began recreational operation of the reservoir.