Los Gatos Creek Trail
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The Los Gatos Creek Trail is a 9.7-mile (15.6 km) pedestrian and bicycle trail that runs through western Santa Clara County in California, from Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos, California through Campbell, California to Meridian Avenue in San Jose, California. The trail is heavily used.
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[edit] Route
[edit] Lexington to Los Gatos
There are two trails between Lexington Reservoir and downtown Los Gatos. The portion of the trail on the west side of the creek is the Los Gatos Creek Trail proper and is a smooth wide trail on an old railway bed. The portion on the east side is the Jones Trail near the reservoir which connects to the Flume Trail. The north portion of this trail is for pedestrians only as it's windy and goes down to the stream level in several places. Jones Road is an alternative for cyclists. The Jones and Flume trail connect with Novitiate Park and the St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve. There is a limited amount of parking available in Novitate Park and at the end of Jones Road.
[edit] Downtown Los Gatos access
The trail passes the 1854 Forbes Mill in Los Gatos. It also passes immediately behind Old Town. There is a parking lot with a few spaces meant for the trail next to a small park north of Old Town.
[edit] Vasona Lake County Park
The trail next runs through Vasona Park. There are many attractions in the Park including the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and a T33 airplane that kids can crawl on.
[edit] Los Gatos Creek County Park
The trail next enters and Los Gatos Creek County Park.
[edit] Downtown Campbell access
Downtown Campbell is only a three block walk from the trail via Campbell Avenue.
[edit] The Pruneyard
The trail next passes by the back of the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell. The access point is near the northwest corner of the Pruneyard. The Pruneyard has offices, shops, restaurants, and a movie theater.
[edit] Willow Glen
The trail next heads through San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood, ending at Meridian Avenue. But prior to that, access is available at Blackford Elementary School near the intersection of Leigh Avenue and Willow Street.
[edit] Connecting to the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
Extensive work has been done near the San Jose Airport to help connect the Los Gatos Creek Trail to the network of San Francisco Bay Trails.
[edit] Light Rail access to the trail
The Vasona light rail line opened in October, 2005. There is easy access from the trail to the Campbell light rail station via Campbell Avenue. The Hamilton station is near the Creekside Avenue trail access point. The Winchester and Bascom stations are also relatively near the trail.
