This is another milestone cache on the Coyote Creek Trail. The Coyote Creek Trail is one of the best multi-use trails in the Bay Area, and it deserves more caches. This is another installment in my quest to correct that deficiency.
From Anderson Lake County Park to Hellyer County Park, the Coyote Creek Trail is a Santa Clara County Parks trail. This cache is close to the point where the county hands off responsibility for the Coyote Creek Trail to the city of San Jose. For most of its length, the county part of the trail runs through rural areas. Once it becomes a San Jose city trail, it enters more densely-populated urban areas. The contrasts between the two parts of the trail and Coyote Creek itself are quite noticeable. When I was placing this cache, I was debating whether to put it on the city side or the county side. There were some truly evil hiding places on the city side, but I refrained from those. Instead, this is in Hellyer. It is a camo'd pill bottle hidden next to the trail near a group picnic area. If the park road to the picnic area is closed in Hellyer by the velodrome, so park near the northwest corner of the Yerba Buena Road bridge near the bridge under-crossing ramp on Grandbrook Way. You can cross under the road to the north end of Hellyer. There's no charge to park on the street. You have to pay a parking fee to park inside of Hellyer County Park.
Cache contents:
Pencil
Logsheet
I should warn you that the Coyote Creek Trail between Yerba Buena and Capitol Expressway is not the cleanest or safest trail in the area. The newer segment between Capitol and Tully is not too bad. Stay away from the side of the creek that does not have a legal trail. It has lots of homeless camps.
6/25/23 Update: The cache was destroyed in a recent fire. It has been replaced in the same location, but in an unburned spot. The hide is slightly different.