# Henry W. Coe State Park

> Place to go for families in the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara area (CA). Times are Pacific Time.

- When: Coe Ranch and Hunting Hollow entrances open 365 days a year, including holidays; Dowdy…
- Where: Henry W. Coe State Park, Coe Ranch Entrance and Visitor Center, 9000 East Dunne Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
- Ages: All ages
- Price: Vehicle Day Use: $8.00 ($6 parking at Hunting Hollow); special rates may apply for peak season, holidays and weekends
- Schedule: Coe Ranch and Hunting Hollow entrances open 365 days a year, including holidays; Dowdy Ranch Entrance open seasonally with limited hours.
- Organizer: California State Parks
- Official page: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=561
- Last checked: Sat, Oct 24

Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Oct 24, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about
Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-10-24), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/henry-w-coe-state-park--listing-16710efebf8701e3d9ea5bc6

## About

Henry W. Coe is the largest state park in Northern California, protecting 87,000 acres of hills and ridges in the Diablo Range east of Morgan Hill. Families usually start at the Coe Ranch Entrance and visitor center at the end of East Dunne Avenue (10 miles of narrow, winding road past Anderson Lake, about 30 minutes from Highway 101), where the half-mile Live Oak Trail links the visitor center to the parking lot and is one of the few places dogs are allowed. Beyond that the park is rugged backcountry: the nearest ponds are about 4 miles round trip, there is no drive-to swimming, and spring weekends fill the lots, so arrive early and carpool. Backpacking permits are first-come, first-served. Drones are not allowed, and only Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes may use trails open to bikes.

## Similar picks in San Jose

- [Fremont Peak State Park](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/fremont-peak-state-park--listing-8fe8b2b07f38ae1dfbb59c6d) — Open year round; day use 8am to 30 minutes after sunset. · Fremont Peak State Park, San Juan Bautista · All ages · From $6 · checked Oct 24. Fremont Peak State Park crowns the Gavilan Range above San Juan Bautista, about 11 winding miles up San Juan Canyon Road (vehicles over 25 feet are not recommended). From its…
- [A Mystery of Skulls Nature Pop-up at Metcalf Motorcycle County Park](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/a-mystery-of-skulls-nature-pop-up-at-metcalf-motorcycle-county-park--listing-14498187b654885ea9c20727) — Sun, Oct 25 · 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM · Metcalf Motorcycle County Park · All ages · Free · checked Oct 24. A drop-in nature pop-up run by county park interpreters: stop by any time during the three-hour window to handle animal skulls and pelts and work out what they reveal about how…
- [Quicksilver History Hike at Almaden Quicksilver County Park](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/quicksilver-history-hike-at-almaden-quicksilver-county-park--listing-c7a7e32689d26f179e00ad24) — Sun, Oct 25 · 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Almaden Quicksilver County Park – Wood Road entrance · Ages 10+ · Free · checked Oct 24. A park interpreter leads a 3–4 mile history hike through Almaden Quicksilver County Park, tracing how a once-busy mercury mining enterprise became a park and how changing values…
- [Children's Halloween Haunt at History Park](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/children-s-halloween-haunt-at-history-park--listing-615e95b85831423e8f73b352) — Sat, Oct 24 · 2:00 PM – 6:30 PM · History Park · Paid · checked Oct 24. History San José's Children's Halloween Haunt turns History Park, the 14-acre collection of historic homes and shops in Kelley Park, into a costume-friendly Halloween afternoon…
- [Trunk or Treat at Educational Park Library](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/trunk-or-treat-at-educational-park-library--listing-8cec6fb12cf054e0f8d80ba6) — Sat, Oct 24 · 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM · Educational Park Branch Library · All ages · Free · checked Oct 24. Educational Park Library turns its parking lot into a Trunk or Treat for the neighborhood, with decorated cars handing out candy (while it lasts), music and outdoor games…
- [Family Fun Zoo Class at Happy Hollow](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/activities/family-fun-zoo-class-at-happy-hollow--listing-ec64c3ed307c40e275c7cc6f) — Sat, Oct 24 (+4 more dates) · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Happy Hollow Park & Zoo · From $40 · checked Oct 24. Family Fun is Happy Hollow's Saturday-morning class for a whole family group, held inside the park and zoo in Kelley Park. Each session has its own nature theme: the Fall…

## More for families

- [This weekend in San Jose](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/this-weekend) (Markdown: https://grassyknees.com/san-jose/this-weekend.md)
- [Things to do with kids in San Jose](https://grassyknees.com/san-jose) (Markdown: https://grassyknees.com/san-jose.md)