Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park is a massive 6,695 acre regional recreation area sprawling across the hills east of Gilroy, with enough room to spend a full weekend exploring without repeating yourself. The centerpiece is a 449 acre lake where you can fish or take a boat out, but what keeps most people coming back are the 33+ miles of trails that cut through oak forests and climb up to ridgelines with views stretching across southern Santa Clara Valley.

The campground has 73 sites for both RVs and tents, each with a picnic table, grill or fire pit, and a food storage locker. RV sites come with electricity and water hook-ups, there’s a dump station nearby, and hot showers are available to everyone. It’s a solid setup if you want to camp with your dog for a few days without roughing it completely.

The Bear Ranch section in San Martin is worth a dedicated visit even if you’re not camping. There’s a 2-mile paved loop trailhead that draws joggers, dog-walkers, and people just looking to move around outside. It’s easy enough for casual outings but peaceful enough that you’ll see why people make it a regular spot. The bigger trail network spreads across all three park sections, weaving through oak-studded canyons and grassier ridgelines where the elevation changes give you better views the higher you climb. You can hike, bike, or ride horses on most of them.

The park’s layout means you can pick different trailheads depending on what kind of day you want. Some trails stay in the shade of the oak groves, which is nice on warmer days. Others take you up to the ridge where the wind picks up and you can see for miles. Spring is typically the best time to visit before the heat really sets in and the grass gets too dried out.