Campsite review: Uvas Canyon County Park

Location:
8515 Croy Road
Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Date of visit:
September 3-4, 2010

Weather:

A bit warm but overall very nice.  It was in the mid-80s when we arrived at the park around 5pm, but the sites are quite shaded, so it was pretty comfortable.  The evening was perfect: in the 60s.  We were all wearing jeans and T-shirts with no trouble.  Overnight low inside our tent was 62F; it was probably a few degrees cooler outside.

Campground Condition:

* So far, all of the Santa Clara County Parks I’ve camped at have been clean, quiet, and not overcrowded.  Uvas definitely fits that description.  Everything was very well-maintained (the maintenance crew drove by three times in the morning, collecting trash, cleaning the restrooms, etc).

* The campsites are very close together. There is good canopy cover from the sun, but very little privacy between campsites.

* Each site has a fire pit, concrete parking pad, food locker, and picnic table. There are garbage cans and recycling bins at the restrooms and spread around the camping areas, plus water spigots about every third campsite.

* The bathrooms are clean well-stocked.  The bathroom building nearest our site had separate men’s and women’s stalls with flush toilets, sinks, and mirrors. No soap, but there was an air hand dryer (no paper towels).   The bathroom nearest our site did not have showers; I didn’t look to see if there were some elsewhere.

* The campground has a wood fire ban during the summer (mid-May through late October): charcoal fires only.  Occasionally there are fire bans altogether and only camp stoves are permitted — check before you go.  I didn’t see anywhere to buy charcoal (or wood) at the campground.

What to do: (copied from the below website)

• Outdoor enthusiasts will find Uvas Canyon Park has much to offer. The park has six miles of hiking trails including a one mile Waterfall Loop that travels along Swanson Creek past many of the park’s waterfalls.
• A pamphlet, available at the trailhead and/or ranger’s office, highlights the flora of Uvas Canyon along this self-guided interpretive trail.  (Note that we never found the pamphlet, despite actively looking for it.)
• Park visitors may also want to visit nearby Uvas and Chesbro Reservoirs. These reservoirs are open for non-power boating (electric motors permitted) and fishing. No swimming is permitted in any of the Santa Clara County Parks.

More info:  Uvas Canyon County Park website

My photos:

Our site (#10):

These little bugs were everywhere.  I think we brought a few hundred of them home, too.

Two of the many small waterfalls along the aptly-named Waterfall Loop Trail:

April along Waterfall Loop Trail:

Even in summer, it’s green along Swanson Creek:

We managed to survive the wood ban and grill our Kalbi short ribs on charcoal.  It was rough, but we pulled through:

Who knew you could see this many stars within the Bay Area?

The canyon drops off pretty quickly at our campsite:

Your band of intrepid adventurers: