Joseph D. Grant County Park

A pleasant park, particularly suitable for mountain biking. The Friday visit wasn't overly crowded. The presence of a serene lake and benches allows for a delightful coffee experience with a stunning view. Definitely worth a visit.

Great hike I took on a Saturday morning! Beautiful views of Mt Hamilton & some gorgeous lakes with wildlife all around.

Outstanding park for hiking, off-road biking, camping, and picnicking. Rangers have been friendly, and the trails are well marked and maintained.

2024 update: The trail intersections now have numbers that correspond to what shows up on the map. Huge improvement!

10,882 acre park with many hikes, dogs friendly.
One large lake and several smaller ponds are accessible for fishing. There are picnic ares and camping sites. Bring your water and map. There is no phone service in many places.

This place is absolutely amazing. Make sure to wear pants there is a bunch of prickly brush along some of the narrower paths.

My friend and I did the Antler Point trail all the way to the top 4.5 miles and we chose to do the loop on our return trip which made it 9.9 miles. Was really intense for awhile (bring plenty of water) recommend getting there early to beat the heat.

Also be wary of wildlife we came across a family of wild pigs that added to it all. Worth a trek. See attached pictures for the views from my hike.

Your first real good look at Mt. Hamilton. If you walk over to Quimby Road, you can get a really nice view.

Lovely picnic, hiking place. Was there for a company picnic party, it is hot out there but beautiful. Be aware of driving on Quimby Rd, it is super narrow & winding, not a road for people who get car sick.😉

Beautiful view and perfect day here: open space, lovely lake, flat, slope and steep trails. Along the trail there are some shades, grasses, water spring and some flowers, it’s wonderful! And It is nice to see San Jose view from the top of this park.

We went two nights camping at April 9-11th.I love camping at spring to see wild flowers . The camping ground is far away with each other .They have clean restroom and hot shower. It’s cold in April .I brought many blankets and my sleeping bag is thick Enough . I will come back next spring .For summer, the camping grounds don’t have much shades.

Wonderful place for hiking and wildlife watching.
Got to see deer and rabbit in the morning.
All kinds of birds.

The park and the nearby Grant Lake are some of my favorite places to visit throughout the year. If you like wildlife, hiking, or beautiful scenery then this is your spot. It's Winter right now and Mt Hamilton has snow on it. The sights got even better. They have wild pigs, eagles, and so much more. 😀

Two parking lots in each side of the road.
Beautiful and spectacular.

Beautiful camp site with views and many wild animals. We saw wild hogs, 2 fawns and their mother, a young mountain lion, cows lounging in the shade, and rabbits. The hiking trail we chose did not have much shade.

Joseph D. Grant County Park is a great place to go hiking. There are many trails and tons of wildlife. During my last hike I saw turkeys, birds, boars/wild pigs, and even two bobcats. You can choose to stay on flat trails such as those around Grant Lake, or head up into the hills to experience the amazing views from a higher elevation such as Antler Point Overlook. Since the park is in a rural area and far enough from the urban Bay Area the number of visitors was relatively low and I felt that I had the entire park to myself. Overall, a great place to hike and experience the outdoors and escape the urban environment.

A large spacious park! On the way up there, you could get a panoramic view of Santa Clara county!!! Very spectacular!!!

It could be windy due to the elevation! It is beautiful in the spring with endless green hills and open space!!

The bathrooms are very clean at the parking lot! There are also plenty of picnic tables!

Other facts:
Joseph D Grant County Park is the largest Santa Clara county park (10,000 acres, 40 campsites, 21 hiking trails)

Hikers rejoice! What a fantastic place to hike, see wildlife and enjoy solitude. I did 6 mile loop (see pics and map) from lake and up and it was amazing. Even saw a wild boar!
Lake side parking is limited. Can park at main and walk over or start at main park entrance. Maps available. One porta potty on lakeside parking. Quite empty on weekdays. I went Monday morning and didn’t see a single person.
Difficulty: moderate. Slopes are not too steep. there are trails that are easy but you can also challenge yourself with difficult ones too.
Have: water, sunscreen, hat, long sleeves and pants (poison oak in some areas).

Nature within 10 miles of San Jose. Who knew? It’s beautiful, clean, well maintained and the trails are dog friendly. All rangers, staff and host were friendly and helpful. It’s mostly reservable But they do have a handful of first come first serve sites for poor planning last minute campers like me. Be warned! The 8 mile drive is twisty and narrow. Signs”not recommended for trucks towing Trailers. Cars towing trailers, RVs” on the way up so . . .

Multiple choices for hiking with different entrances. The big parking lot which is close to the entrance of the park will charge $6 a day, and the smaller one which is next to the lake will charge $5 a day. The charge will start from tomorrow April 5th. We chose the trail along the lake, and kids love it! They played at the lake beach for quite a long time. We saw a rabbit today! And met with the senior man showing pictures of flowers here with some knowledges, and a volunteer of the park asked us if we need any help! Very appreciate their efforts and time!

The park is spread in a very big area and has many trails to cover. Parking here inside is $6 but they also have a small parking lot near grant lake which is free but gets filled easily. They have campgrounds for RV, Horses and for normal campers. They also have a horse riding trail. The trails which are not near the mountain are mostly sunny and the Dutch Flat trail here is absolutely not flat !! Hotel trail goes out of the park enclosed area near the mountain where one can see cattle roaming in big fenced lots. Also, the drive from Sunnyvale can be a bit long but once you hit the mountain road the view of the city is awesome and totally worth it. I would call this a hidden gem !!

My first visit to the park was very enjoyable. I went on trails which passed several lakes/ponds and saw an abundance of wildlife including deer, wild boar, great white egrets, and two varieties of hawks. A closer view of Lick Observatory can also been seen and there are a variety of buildings with historical significance.

We took Mt. Hamilton road to get there which you should drive with caution as there are a lot of curves and is a road where bicyclists like to take. The trail markings aren’t the best so having an app like All Trails is helpful.