Kind of a hidden park in San Carlos, near Eaton Park, but a great local hike with decent distance and elevation change. There's more than one entry point, but I started my hike from the side across the street from Crestview park. Pros: Really breathtaking canyon vistas (hence the name) once you get farther into the park. It's kinda remarkable that some people have this as a local resource. Decent distance to hike, much more expansive of trail network than nearby Eaton park. Dogs allowed! Woohoo! Street parking is fairly easy in the neighborhood. Cons: The decline into the trail from the Crestview side is somewhat steep. Careful with your footing. This place was hot as hell when I went there in late spring, while there's tree shade, portions are very exposed. Part of me would be concerned about fire risk in the summer since it's not the easiest to get out of this forest, as the trail is narrow once you get farther in and single track (also something to consider if you're bringing your dog - you may have little room to pass other dogs) with a lot of brush. There doesn't seem to be bathrooms or water so definitely bring your own. read more

"One visit is enough." Honestly, there's not much of a reason to come back here. It's not that there's anything especially wrong; rather, there's not anything especially right. The trails are just okay. Nothing special. The entrance is conveniently located off the street, with free parking. Right across the street is the trailhead to Eaton Park. There is an information kiosk right at the trailhead. There's also a box for trail maps. The day that I visited there were no maps. Take a lesson from East Bay Regional Parks and don't be cheap about distributing maps. Keep in mind there are no facilities here; however, Crestview Park is close by and has water and restrooms. read more

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This was the first place that I did hiking since the air improved which I was really glad to be hiking again cause I missed it so much. Haha.. this place was pretty nearby my (now former) boyfriend's place so we came here to hike. There are some shaded areas on this trail with a great deal of mini trails that veers off the main path. I would give this place 3.5 stars. The view is pretty cool as it leads up the hill so you get a view of the San Carlos area. read more

Big Canyon Park - Parks Near Me - San Carlos, California

Tl;dr Decent hiking spot in the neighborhood for those looking to get exercise for an hour, while still getting some good views. Would recommend Eaton Park over this especially on a hot day as there is limited shade. Plenty of street parking between Eaton and Big Canyon Park. A loop around the entire area is about 1.5 miles and takes about an hour. There's areas of steady incline so I would rate the hike as mild to moderate (probably more of the latter). There's not much shade so wear sunscreen. You do get great views of the Bay and surrounding area as well. Trails are a bit narrow so you may need to stop to let people pass by. For those interested, you can include Eaton Park to your itinerary for a longer hike. read more

Big Canyon Park - Parks Near Me - San Carlos, California

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Big Canyon Park is a little off the beaten path compared to most parks. It's mostly hidden in a residential area. You need to park on the street of a residential area to get to this park. I would suggest parking on Brittan Ave. The hours of the park are 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. Dogs are welcome but need to be leashed. My favorite hike here is Harold Drake Trail to Oak Meadow Trail to the end of the trail (to check out the amazing view), back tracking to Meadow Loop Trail and ending back at Harold Drake. It's about 2.9 miles. Generally I like to connect this trail with a hike at Eaton Park which is south of Big Canyon Park. The views on Harold Drake Trail and Oak Meadow are really beautiful. read more

Big Canyon Park - Map of Big Canyon Park trails. - Parks Near Me - San Carlos, California

A nice and easy hike hidden in a residential area, so it's a good intro to hiking. Pretty impressed by how it felt like mini hike in the middle of a suburb. There are lots of shade on the trail. The hike wasn't long, I think the loop is around 3 miles. However, the trail is narrow so I'm glad I went around 5pm when there wasn't a lot of people. This park seems like a good place to practice trail running! read more

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This isn't my favorite hiking trail, but it's the one that my kids pick when I threaten to take them hiking. I'm pretty sure that it's because they've figured out that the main loop is pretty short (probably less than 2 miles; we are usually done in an hour) and that there's a bench near the middle where they can stop to eat snacks (though it was sort of broken this past weekend when we visited). They're doing some upgrades to the small bridges that cross over the mini-canyons and creeks. We usually start from Brittan Ave and go left up the hill. The trail is steep and narrow, but there's a lot of greenery during and after rainy season. This part of the trail is almost completely shaded. The trail levels out near the top where you can get a nice view of the whole (small canyon) before heading back down around the other side (which is a bit more exposed). There's an offshoot of the trail that overlooks Brittan but I'm not a huge fan of overlooking the street. There are some wildflowers here and there, and I've managed to get some nice photos over the years. Still, if it were entirely up to me I'd head over to Edgewood, which isn't that much further away. read more

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this is another less traveled gem of a park in san carlos. almost a decade of living in rwc and i'd never heard of or even driven past this park! i came with a friend for an early friday morning hike and the trails were pretty empty, which is good b/c it is mostly single track here...i.e. i couldn't hike next to my friend, we had to go single file. we covered a little more than 2 miles with a LOT of vert! i can run 2 miles in less than 20 minutes, but these 2 miles took me closer to 40, esp with the breaks to take in views and snap a few photos. speaking of which, the views are absolutely gorgeous, worth the hike, and work to the top. we saw a large herd of goats grazing along the south side of the park, lots of white furry spots dotting the trails! to the north and east, we were treated to amazing views of san carlos/belmont/san mateo, quite stunning on a clear, sunny day! i definitely recommend hiking shoes or something with traction since there is a lot of elevation change, and some more technical trails here. there are no water fountains or restrooms, so plan accordingly. as for parking, there is lots of street parking along crestview drive, you can also park in crestview park which has a proper parking lot, restrooms, and water. i'm already looking forward to my next visit here! read more

Ample parking on the streets. Nice little hiking trail with about 50 % shade. Paths are small, enough for one person and the side of the paths are steep, not safe for young children. Saw a few people with dogs, other than that, it wasn't crowded at all for a Sunday mid day hike. A nice hidden park. read more

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Eaton Park's "uglier cousin." Big Canyon Park is a suburban hiking park, right across the street from Eaton Park in San Carlos. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/eaton-park-san-carlos?hrid=9zuTvSyJKbcAaz_CwT8WRw&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)). Like Eaton, it provides a quick escape from civilization, being surrounded by the suburbia that is upper San Carlos. Unlike Eaton, the escape is tenuous. There are almost always houses in view, and most trails are short and exposed. Poison oak is rampant here in the spring, summer and fall, so staying on the trail is a must. Yet trails can also be quite narrow in spots, and there are some abrupt grade changes, as if the builders changed their minds once or twice during construction. ("Hey, let's go steeply uphill for no reason...OK. and now steeply down!") It is possible to create a 1.5 mile loop hike here, and then extend it with a 0.5 mile there-and-back section (for a total of 2.5 miles), but it's not a favorite destination of mine, especially with so many other great places nearby. If I had a dog, though, I'd be at Big Canyon more often. (Dogs on a leash are allowed). OK, it's a bit unfair of me to call the entire park "ugly" in my opening line. There are a few pretty spots here. My absolute favorite is a beautiful, coast live oak just above the main entrance trail. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/big-canyon-park-san-carlos?select=T01fGuv8vJ_VLRc8rlgpew&utm_campaign=www_photo_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)). But it's an anomaly in an otherwise drab hiking spot. Dan's Hiking Spot list: -- Parking: Street-side only -- Bathrooms: No -- Potable water: No -- Maps provided: Signpost only, and hard to read -- Highlights: some partial views of San Carlos My Peninsula Hike Collection is here: (https://www.yelp.com/collection/qBI6U6Lz9LJQjnGjFW6ubg) read more

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I want to first compliment who ever planned to have a trail here and the one who actually did the work. It's a narrow trail that looks like a small bulldozer plow through and added 4ft wide bridges and steps. I don't know what the final idea was but it must have been lot's of work. It's basically a narrow trail around the canyon which has prickly plants all over the sides of the trails. Not pretty but hats off to the idea. I'm thinking if you clear all the shrubs down to the valley it could look pretty. But, that's a lot of work I'm sure. I would suggest trail running shoes and not regular running shoes. If you fall, it's on rough terrain in some areas and most areas are surrounded by very aggressive prickly shrubs. I started in the area of Big Canyon Park that's across Crestview Park. You have a choice of going up or down the trail, I chose up. It winds aggressively up very narrow, one man width wide trails and after about a mile you have another choice of up or down trail, again I chose up. And then there is a sign that says End of Trail. It looks like it goes on further, but at this time that's all there is unless they continue it one day so the only choice is to turn around and head back. Like the other reviews, this trail is just for aggressive runners, I suggest not for kids and not for pets. It's too narrow in most places if you have two people going in opposite directions one will have to give way to the other. Next time I'll try the lower path and see where that leads me down the valley, but I'm sure it's all the same and I'll update if I see more. This and the Eaton Trail should not be run too close to sunset, too dangerous and also very aggressive mosquito's. read more

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I can see why this park can be precarious for runners. The trail is almost entirely comprised of narrow, winding paths along steep hillsides. If you have a dog that pulls, you want to make sure you're strong enough to hold your ground or have them under good voice control. If your dog isn't friendly you may want to go on a weekday when it's less crowded. When people pass by there isn't very much room to move aside, so you'll end up being close quarters with strangers and other dogs. Overall, it's a nice walk. Takes about 45 minutes even with stopping and starting (the place is littered with benches, which are convenient for water breaks) so I assume it's a half hour or less walk otherwise. If that's not enough for you, swing over to Eaton Park across the street. read more

As a standalone "park", it's not much, but as a trail to run or hike, it's a fantastic workout on the glutes, with at least 1/2 mile of lung-burning uphills I like to run this as an add-on after running the Eaton Trail, which dumps out right across the street on Brittan. That trail, which I haven't found on Yelp yet, is also a nice network of great up and down trails, with some fantastic vistas of the SF Bay down to San Jose. If you go up the right side of Big Canyon, maybe 1/4 mile of the way up, there's a trail extension on your right, and if you follow that, will be treated with amazing views, and a nice narrow path to run. The only bad part is that after about 1/2 mile, there's a "Trail Ends" sign, and you have to turn around and go back. read more

Be Careful for the terrible Poison Oak the lurks along the trail..... My dog ran through it and got it all over me, needless to say I had a terrible couple of weeks....... One of my favorite Parks around, but I could do without the Rash! read more

The trail is steep at parts, not a complaint a good thing...yet pretty short and some trails without markings lead to dead ends. That said the terraine ease of parking and low amount of hikers at least the sunday we hiked is a plus. The best part you can bring your pooch. read more

I live nearby and you don't really want to go to this park unless you want to go on a deer safari. At any given time, I'm certain that there are more deer in this small park than people. If you're looking for a nice hike, I'd recommend walking directly across the street and follow the trail up the stairs. This trail levels off after the stairs and is a lot more interesting with much better views than what you'll find at Big Canyon Park -- a real neighborhood gem. read more

Nice place to burn some calories!! A little narrow but enjoyable..

I hate to give a bad review of a park because parks are inherently wonderful things, but there are better parks in the area... this one is in need of a little TLC. It does not appear to be used very much, and as a result, the trails are pretty overgrown with tall grass and weeds. The trail was also narrow and not runner friendly. The park is 16 acres, and the trail is a little over a mile long (one way). I think it would be a nice place to walk your dog if you lived in the area. read more

Brilliant trail - perfect for a short hike with good resistance. Just enough hill to get the heart going. I walk here with my kids (they were 7 and 9 when we first found this trail) and yes it is steep and the paths are narrow but nothing too dangerous for the kids. They love it! Just remember to put hiking shoes/sturdy sneakers on. Wear long trousers and long sleeves because there is a lot of poison oak about - but I guess most hikers know to do that already! The only downside for me is that many dog walkers let their dogs off leash which I don't think is permitted in this parkland and loose dogs have been observed causing problems (chasing deer/rabbits, mess not cleared up by owner and dogs jumping at other walkers). But this doesn't stop me walking in this great location. read more