April 29, 2004

Team effort provides a new walk in the park
Dedication and opening of Canada del Oro at Calero Lake County Park

By Jeanne C. Lewis
Staff Writer

On a perfect California spring day, 100 people witnessed the dedication and opening of the Canada del Oro property at Calero Lake County Park in southern Almaden. The 943-acre addition increases the park to 4,400 beautiful acres.

The day began with a crew of volunteers doing trail work of building, repairing and restoring footpaths at the new park. Guests, speakers and 19 horses were on the site for the dedication, some who would take the Serpentine Loop Trail hike and ride the equestrian tour after the celebration.

The dedication speakers included Lisa Killough, director of Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department [SCCPRD]; Audrey Rust, president of Peninsula Open Space Trust [POST]; Pat Congdon, general manager for the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority [SSCOSA]; Albert Balagso, assistant director for the city of San Jose’s Parks and Recreation Department; Don Gage, supervisor for District 1, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Congressman Mike Honda.

“The charm of this property is that we are close to civilization but you feel as if you are in a very remote area,” Lisa Killough, director of Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department, said in her opening remarks as a deer passed in the meadow behind her. “It is some of the most stunning scenery you will see in the county.”
Calero Lake County Park has two areas: the reservoir open year-round to both power and non-power vessels and the “back country” open to hikers and equestrians.

Canada del Oro, originally one of the pueblos of San Jose and Mexico’s grant system, remains unspoiled due to a winning partnership. The park’s beauty features riparian woodlands, rolling foothills, grassland meadows, wildflowers and canyons surrounded by oak covered ridges. Wildlife flourishes here, some endangered. And the views are phenomenal: stretching the Diablo range on the northeast to Mount Umunhum to the West.

Audrey Rust, president of POST, related to the enthusiastic crowd the remarkable feat of acquiring of the property in 1999 for $6.25 million, given the intense development pressure at the time. And that it took only five minutes. But the real work was in the joint effort of funding through contributions from POST, including a grant from the Hewlett Packard Foundation; SCCPRD; the city of San Jose and the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, plus private foundations and individual donors. SCCPRD are now the owners and will manage the park.

“I love the park system because it’s a place for me to go and hide,” Supervisor Don Gage said with his customary sense of humor. “People are always looking for me one way or another.”

Gage thanked the people of San Jose, the ones who use the park, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of Supervisors for their vision that now includes 45,000 acres of parks and recreation throughout the county.
“This is what makes the valley so great and different,” Congressman Mike Honda said at the podium. “It’s always nice to come home from the east coast. We know what working together means.”

Following the ribbon cutting by the public and dignitaries, a two-hour hike and horseback ride on the Serpentine Loop Trail commenced. The trail represents a first time effort by SCCPRD and the San Jose Conservation Corp. to plan, design and construct a path where none existed.

To visit Canada del Oro pass Calero Reservoir on McKean Road, turn right on Casa Loma Road and continue until you reach the gate. Or call 355-2200 or visit www.parkhere.org.