I had the opportunity to
check out Henry Coe State Park, near Morgan Hill a couple of weeks ago. I was
pleasantly surprised by the easy and beautiful drive that led me to this great
viewing site. It’s closer than Fremont Peak and has more horizon. The
viewing site is the parking lot ¼ mile before the ranger’s house and,
it has bathroom facilities a few steps away.
This is a popular viewing site with many South Bay amateur astronomers. The
biggest reason is the above-mentioned open horizons. It also has enough room to
allow numerous telescopes. The evening I drove down, it was a bit chilly and
windy and some of the San Jose light dome was visible to the north and west.
However, this did not dissuade me from enjoying some photon-gathering hours
with the other astronomers who were there.
The east and south horizons were fairly dark considering that the fog that
usually covers the valley wasn’t to be seen all night. Also, that night, a
10-year young lady, Mimi, finished off her Messier list – so it was quite
exciting and she is quite an inspiration.
I left San Francisco at about 4:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon and arrived about
6:30 PM. Of course, I stopped a few times to pick up necessary supplies such as
water, food and a beer that I like to have while setting up. So the actual
drive time was just over an hour.
The approach to this site is quite beautiful in and of itself. After turning
off Highway 101 and taking the Henry Coe State Park exit at Morgan Hill, it is
a 13 mile drive through some residential areas at first before turning into an
oasis of green hills, a reservoir and gentle glens of oak trees. The road is
quite twisty and narrow but that was half the fun. Henry Coe State Park is the
largest state park in California. It boasts of camping areas, hiking trails,
bike paths and vistas that take your breath away. Not to mention is how quiet
it is so near a major metropolitan area.
The south bay club has a monthly scheduled viewing night, but if you happen to
want to go up there during a night when no event is scheduled, go up to the
ranger’s house and ask permission. You will usually get it. There is a
park fee, $5 per vehicle. You can leave you money in the drop box near the
entrance to the parking lot. Additional information can be found at
http://www.seds.org/billa/sjaa/coe.html.
All in all, I enjoyed this site very much and am planning to include it in my
summer itinerary. Overall for no particular reason, I give this site a six star
rating. It’s just one of those spots that you’ll find something new
and good that you can’t quite put your finger on to keep you coming back.
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