Completed: May 28, 2023 | Elevation: 1,155′ | Trail: Hidden Springs Trail (from Pueblo Day Use Area) | Distance: 2 miles
Our fifth and final peak for the day was Coyote Peak, located inside Santa Teresa County Park. We had already successfully tackled four of the South Bay’s Nifty Ninety peaks – Church and Mine Hills, Knibbs Knob and Mt. Madonna – and pushed ourselves to do one more before heading home.
This peak is not to be confused with another Nifty Ninety, also called Coyote Peak, found in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. While they share a name and are similar in elevation, the nature of the two hikes could not be more different. Getting to Napa’s Coyote Peak requires a longer hike with more varied terrain but not much of a view since the trail has significant portions in the woods. The South Bay’s Coyote Peak was a quick one-hour return trip on an exposed trail with grassland all around and afforded unobstructed views of the surrounding cities.
After leaving Mt. Madonna County Park, it took us about 45 minutes to drive north on 101 to the Pueblo Day Use Area in Santa Teresa County Park. It was close to 7:00 P.M. by the time we arrived. Thank goodness for the longer days otherwise we would have missed our opportunity to do this hike.
We turned onto Coyote Peak Trail and followed it all the way to the top where there was a grassy mound that suggested the summit. The sun was low on the horizon casting a beautiful golden light on the nearby hills.
It was 8:00 P.M. and still light out when we got back to the car and made our way back to 101 for the drive back home.
Find an overview of our grand hike of the South Bay Nifty Nineties here.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough time (light) to to this last hike; we only had a little over an hour before sunset. As we approached the park, I remember thinking to myself that the hill looked really high up. However, I was surprised that we completed it as fast as we did. This hike was actually a nice capstone to our whirlwind day of driving from one South Bay park to another in order to tackle as many Nifty Nineties as we could.