MTB Project Logo
Climb
MTB
Hike
Trailrun
Ski
Limited Time70% OffonX Backcountry

Rancho San Vicente and Calero Park

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate Intermediate
 4.4 (165)
  1. Areas
  2. CA
  3. …Bay Area
  4. …San Jose
  5. Calero County Park
Explore MTB in 3D
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
Previous Next

“A loop around Rancho San Vicente and Calero Parks. ”

Marco Paganini
Your Rating: Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty:
Your Favorites: Add To-Do · Your List

9.4

Miles

15.2

KM

50%

Singletrack

891' 272 m

High

418' 127 m

Low

713' 217 m

Up

713' 217 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

9%

Max Grade (5°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Views

Family Friendly Easy trails for the family, easy grades. Families can hike up to the Lisa's Lookout to take advantage of the picnic tables and great views. There are public restrooms as well.

Overview

As of 2022, there are official park signs that the Lisa Killough Trail is now one-way in the counter-clockwise direction, together with the return via the Cottle Trail. The description should now be considered in the opposite order (written for the clockwise direction).

This is the longest possible loop on Rancho San Vicente and Calero (~9.5 miles). The trails are a mix of fire roads and wide singletrack. There are no technical sections, the trail is mostly very smooth, and the climbs are mostly very gentle, which makes it a good place to bring beginners. There are nice views of the Calero Reservoir in the second half of the trail.
Note: There are signs at the beginning of the loop showing riders should go counterclockwise rather than the original clockwise direction.

Need to Know

While the park has a surprising amount of tree coverage (for parks in this region), the southernmost trails (inside Calero) can get pretty hot, so bring plenty of water when riding during the hot months of the year. Also, keep in mind that not all trails in Calero County Park are bike legal! Consult the park map for up-to-date information.

Note, when the park is busy the route is opposite of the way shown here... all MTB are required to go counter clockwise.

Description

Rancho San Vicente opened to the public in March of 2018. The park shares trails with the larger Calero County Park, for a total of 9.5 miles of trails. The trails are about 50% fire road and 50% "wide" singletrack (which will get weathered down over time and become narrower). All of the climbs on this loop are gentle, and most people won't ever need to touch their granny gear. This is a nice, flowy ride for those days where stress is not desirable or when introducing someone to the sport.

The front side of the park has nice views of Calero Reservoir (from a somewhat unusual point of view). When riding back, make sure to stop at Lisa's Lookout for a quick rest.

Rancho San Vicente connects to Rancho Canãda del Oro via the Cottle Trail (get ready for the typical Bay area fire road climbs if you go that way.) It is also possible to connect to Almaden Quicksilver (via one mile on paved Almaden Road) or Santa Teresa County Park (via one mile on Fortini Road).

Contacts

Land Manager: Santa Clara County Parks

Shared By:

Marco Paganini with improvements by Ryan Vallieu and 5 others
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.4 from 165 votes

#1

in Calero County Park

#81

Overall
  4.4 from 165 votes
5 Star
56%
4 Star
35%
3 Star
6%
2 Star
2%
1 Star
1%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Calero County Park

#10

in California

#81

Overall
264 Views Last Month
35,284 Since Apr 7, 2018
Intermediate Intermediate
12%
24%
61%
1%
1%
0%
Add a Photo

Photos

San Vincente Trail Sunday December 11, 2021.
Jan 2, 2022 near Almaden…, CA
Really nice view all along of Lisa's Trail
Apr 8, 2018 near Almaden…, CA
Nice View
Aug 20, 2018 near Almaden…, CA
Downhill segment
Sep 29, 2020 near Almaden…, CA
Lisa's Lookout
Apr 7, 2018 near Almaden…, CA
Overcast spring day
Jul 5, 2020 near Almaden…, CA

6 Comments

Sort by: Oldest Drop down
Newest Oldest Popular
loading

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 12 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

May 27, 2025
Bob Simmons
Love this loop. Seems like there is 2x down hill compared to up.
Mar 29, 2025
Kevin Huang
Mar 9, 2025
Pingbo Jiang
Dec 30, 2024
Joonas Lehtinen
Closed for bicycles today
Oct 26, 2024
Mano MtnGt
Sunset ride. I did not do the Rancho San Vicente portion shown on the map. Nice, flowy trail. Saw cows and many deer. 8.4mi — 1h 07m
Oct 25, 2024
Anonymous
first timer 9.5mi — 2h 30m
Sep 2, 2024
Mark Johnson
This loop was fantastic! We extended by going out & back on Oak Cove trail. Great views, challenging but not hard. Loved it! — 2h 20m
Aug 8, 2024
Frank Russo
18mi — 2h 20m

Nearby Recommended Routes

Welcome

Join the Community! It's FREE

Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started