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MISSION STATEMENT
 

Coe Park Preservation Fund brings together corporations and individuals dedicated to preserving Henry Coe State Park and insuring that it is accessible to all park users in perpetuity. Coe Park is the largest state park in northern California, with over 87,000 acres of wild open spaces, and is open year-round for hikers, mountain bikers, backpackers, equestrians, car campers, picnickers, and photographers. What is Coe State Park?—What is its importance?
 

It is the birthright of the public to have open and wild lands protected and accessible, to use them as a vehicle to approach an understanding of the natural world, and to understand the importance of its complexity for species survival. Above all, it is necessary to understand how important open lands are for our own well being and peace of mind.
 

Deep in the Southern Diablo Range, south of Mt Hamilton, lies Henry W. Coe State Park. its rugged landscape provides a remarkable range of environments. Elevations range from below 1,000 feet to over 3,500 feet. There is a steep declining rainfall gradient from west to east, and a temperature gradient increasing from the Santa Clara Valley across the last ridges before the great central valley of California. It is a wondrous anomaly: a vast tract of public land through which no paved road runs. The public is not allowed to drive through the park. It remains in the same blissful state it was in during the ranching era, and, prior to that, when California was truly wild. Within its 87,000 acres lies a multitude of habitats: grasslands, oak forests, chaparral, riparian areas, even coniferous forests. This complexity allows a vast assemblage of creatures to call the park home. As a vast tract of land protected in perpetuity, Henry W. Coe State Park is so much more than an ideal hiking or backpacking destination. It is a living reservoir of natural history, providing both a glimpse into the past and a sign of hope for the future. Who settled here and made the land their special place?
 

For centuries, indigenous people lived here in harmony with nature. They were a peaceful people with few material possessions. When the Spanish missionaries arrived, promising them a new way of life, they left their hills for life in the missions. Abused, beaten, and pursued by Spanish soldiers, many of them returned to the hills seeking refuge.
 

Settlers in nearby communities began claiming homesteads within the hills; in some cases entire families filed claims, and thus were born the large cattle ranches that came to dominate the area. For these people too, the hills above Santa Clara Valley became a place of refuge.
 

In 1953, Sada Coe Robinson gave her family's ranch to the people of California, thus providing the heart of what is today the second largest state park in California. Her words were prophetic: "May these quiet hills bring peace to the souls of those who are seeking." Henry W. Coe State Park has become for all of us a place of refuge.
 

Who uses the park today?
 

This magnificent place — 87,000 acres and growing — calls out to people from all over the bay area and beyond
 

Hiking Coe Park with its hundreds of miles of trails is a favorite destination for hikers and backpackers. Where else in the vicinity can hikers find the challenge of 15 miles and an elevation loss of 5,000 feet, with the ever-present knowledge that you have to regain 5,000 feet! With that you can warm up for Mt. Whitney or a long traverse in the Sierra. Trails are busiest in the spring when the hills are green and filled with wildflowers and the creeks are flowing. In May and June, hard-core hikers set out to enjoy the rugged trails and most remote places while they wait for the snows to melt and the high country in the Sierras to open up.
 

There is a plethora of trails at both the entrances to the park. Some are short (3-6 miles) and relatively gentle. The rest are a stunning but enjoyable workout.
 

The equestrians generally use the more Hunting Hollow entrance which is more easily accessible for trailoring horses and where, if needed, they can find some gentler trails. They are always aware however that to go any distance at all, their horses must be in tip-top condition for the rigors of the Coe trails.
 

Backpacking
 

Backpackers know that they can travel for a week and never revisit the same place. Those who have experienced the glories of backpacking in Coe invariably come back again and again, and for those who have time to go out for several days at a time, its a mystical experience. The responsibilities and worries of daily life have all disappeared by the time you are less than a mile from your car.
 

It is best described in the words of a friend of Coe. A storm came up on the last night —
 

"I spent that rainy night in the confining comfort of my tent rehashing my trip. For five days I had been all alone, seeing no one and not speaking a word. The solitude had given me a great gift. It had untied all the knots in my psychological and emotional rope. My receptors began to pick up signals that are usually lost in the din and racket of life down here on the anthill. I had witnessed and been truly present for a shift in the wind, the first drops of rain, the interplay of light and clouds on the edge of a coming storm.
 

And all this happened (it never ceases to amaze me) just over the hill from home and just down the road from six million people."
 

Equestrians The equestrians generally use the Hunting Hollow entrance which is more easily accessible for trailoring horses and where, if needed, they can find some gentler trails. They are always aware however that to go any distance at all, their horses must be in tip-top condition for the rigors of the Coe trails.
 

Mountain Bicycles Coe park is the largest area to ride in the California State Park system. Apart from the 20,000 acres of State Wilderness and a group of single-track trails within about a 3 mile radius from the Headquarters trailhead, its all welcome to mountain biking.
 

On weekend mornings with favorable weather, the Hunting Hollow parking lot fills with mountain bikers excitedly congregating for rides. These avid bikers often head out for long rides. Typically they will cover a loop of 10 to 40 miles, ranging well over three or four ridges into the park before angling back, and climbing over 3,000 to 10,000 feet in cumulative elevation (and descending the same amount), to return hopefully unscathed, exhausted and exhilarated, with memories of beautiful scenery, observations of wildlife, and a growing love and respect for nature.
 

With supervision and help from the park staff, the mountain bike community works on the trails in Coe Park approximately --?-- hours per year. They plan and build new trails and repair old ones. When working and riding on the trails they have a uniform shirt that identifies them with the park and enables them to render assistance if its needed.
 

Coe Connections A school program developed and taught by the volunteers.
 

Coe Connections is a school field trip program for grades 1 through 6th in which the diversity if the park and its natural environment is interpreted by volunteer docents with an emphasis on ecology. The goal of the program, (adapted to be suitable for the different grades) is to stimulate the students to understand that all things, living and non-living, are connected and that the resources of the park and the earth are not finite and must be protected and treasured.
 

The program is four hours in length (three hours for 1st and 2nd grades). It begins in the morning with discussion and a slide show. Students, teachers, and parents are divided into small groups and each group is led on a hike by a docent. On the hike the docents stress ecological interpretation and the students are asked to observe and make connections. They return to the classroom for a discussion of what they have observed.
 

Summer Enrichment Program
 

With a grant from the Packard Foundation the Interpretive Specialist with several PRA volunteers has been running a Super Power Summer Camp for children from the Gilroy Schools. The program differs from week-to-week, but one of the most popular has been the wilderness awareness and tracking program. The tracking and puzzle solving activity has them being active and hiking and forces them to learn to slow down, learn observational skills, learn scientific method and develop critical thinking skills.
 

The program is held at Hunting Hollow and the students are frequently seen bringing their family members to see where they've been.
 

Plans for a fully ADA-accessible trail
 

The first stage of the Hunting Hollow accessible trail will extend 1.5 miles from the Hunting Hollow parking lot to Fish Pond. The full length of the trail when its completed will be more than five miles. It will provide access to Hunting Hollow year-round for those with mobility disabilities, families with young children, and anyone who prefers an easy stroll in Coe Park. Visitors will be able to enjoy shade in the heat of summer because much of the route is forested, and access through the wet winter months, because the trail will be well above the creek, and paved.
 

The Pine Ridge Association and its volunteers.
 

The Pine Ridge Association is a 501(c)3 corporation that is chartered by the state to support the education and interpretation programs for the public visitors.
 

Established in 1980 with 6 volunteers, the program has grown to 125 volunteers, and a general membership of 450. With a limited number of paid park rangers and staff, volunteers play an important role in providing valuable services to the public and to the park—services that simply would not be accomplished without their help.
 

The uniformed volunteers donate 15,000 hours or more each year. They staff the Visitor Center; assist the rangers by patrolling the backcountry trails on foot, on bicycle, or on horseback; help visitors plan hikes and backpack trips; lead interpretive walks; present evening interpretive programs; help maintain the park's large system of trails; develop and maintain the museum exhibits; assist with the training of new volunteers; prepare and distribute newsletters for the association's members and for the volunteers; and carry out special programs and activities.
 

In summary;
 

The number of people who use Coe Park is smaller than for many of the other state parks. However Coe gives to the people who have come, and will come in the future, an understanding of themselves in relation to their natural surroundings that cannot be transmitted in any other way. Learning to see something that has not been made by man, and learning to hear the solitude is priceless. Our frequent visitors, and those that will become our visiting friends in the future will lose an immeasurable gift if Coe Park is closed.
 

Those of us who have devoted hundreds of hours hours to the park that we love and a park that constantly refreshes our knowledge of a greater spirit would lose what has become a part of ourselves. If the volunteer organization has to be disbanded it will be long before it can be revived with its present numbers and their dedication. Our strategy is to raise the money to keep the park open during this time of state budgetary crisis, and to provide a hedge against future crises.
 

 

STRATEGY