See a view of the surrounding cities from a hill that time has forgotten.
Mine Hill Trail
4 miles; 1.5 hours; moderate
Accessible by the Hacienda Entrance
The Mine Hill Trail makes up the back half of the Historic Trail, but continues all the way to the west end of the park. Highlights include the San Cristobal mine entrance, which you can safely explore, a side trek to the April Trestle and the Bull Run flats.
Savor the juxtaposition of past and present along the path of Mine Hill. Mount Umunhum and the rich chaparral flora create an Edenesque Californian environment. Rusted-out mining equipment emerges from rocks and deceptively untouched ground. The past is within reach with every pastoral vista, suggesting how it must have looked once upon a time.
And yet the present and future always accompany the past. Once at the maximum elevation of this trail, San Jose and its satellite cities emerge like encroaching invaders from the present. Houses creep up to the foothills. And commercial aircraft gleam overhead as they approach or leave the Silicon Valley.
That's why the Mine Hill Trail and Almaden Quicksilver park and mines are so special. Sure, you get a great view of downtown. But with each sweep of the path you're also swept away to a place of rediscovery… a simpler time, when landscapes were the most powerful elements on the horizon. Mine Hill Trail is a comprehensive way to see the stunning treasure located in all of our backyards that even the kids can keep up with.
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