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    Pacheco State Park

    3.9 (18 reviews)

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    Janet D.

    This hike is for the entire park that took us 2.5 hours to finish. Fairly easy 8 miles total. The trees are a tip-off that it gets mighty windy in Pacheco State Park. Squat, flag-shaped oaks bow to the east, sculpted by the prevailing winds into picturesque poses. An even more obvious wind indicator than the stunted oaks are the multitude of wind turbines strategically placed on Pacheco's ridges. During the March through October "wind season," Pacheco Pass is a veritable wind tunnel that whirls the propellers of nearly 200 windmills. Pacheco State Park earns a portion of the revenue from the 21 million kilowatts a year generated by the private utility that owns the windmills. Thanks to this revenue, Pacheco is a rarity in California's impoverished state park system-- a park that actually has adequate funds for its maintenance. Although the total park area is 6,890 acres only the western 2,600 acres are open for public use at this time. The 28 miles of trails offer several loop options to give visitors the choice of a hike or ride of from one to twenty miles or more. Fees: $5 day use fee per vehicle. NOTE: No Dogs allowed on the trails Pacheco is located at an environmental crossroads of the coast range, Diablo Range and the San Joaquin Valley. Blue oaks and valley oaks dot the park's grassy slopes. Botanists have counted some 15 species of native grasses in the park. Although Pacheco seems far removed from the coast, the Pacific plays a significant role in the area's odd weather. An indentation in Monterey Bay that puts the Pacific only 50 miles as the gull flies from the park, the park's location at a gap between mountain ranges, and strong westerly winds all combine to bring heavy coastal fog to the park during hot summer days. Pacheco is a fairly dry park, though you might guess otherwise from the number of lakes depicted on the park map. Nun, Diamond, Bear's Hide, Wolf, Dinosaur, Mammoth and many more lakes are actually tiny reservoirs, originally created to serve as cattle watering ponds. Hikers frequently spot mule deer, ground squirrels, black-tailed hares and feral pigs in the park. More elusive animals include badgers, skunks, gophers and voles (A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars).

    The gates to the park
    Kelly B.

    If you have a brother in Merced and you live in San Jose, this is a great place for an early morning meetup. Yes, they have picnic tables and restrooms. We were pretty much the only people there, but that was good. Looks like lots of hiking trails that I saved for another day. Bring your own water!

    Elk along Dinosaur lake trail
    Pratik G.

    Drive : Park is ~90 miles away, so its quite a drive. There were couple of accidents near Morgan Hill, so it took us 2 hr just to get there. Fees : 10$ fee with Self-serve pay station & restrooms. Considering this park is less-popular, remains windy, & unbearably hot for almost entire year except couple winter/spring months, we thought fee was bit high. Trails : We picked up map & started with pig pond trail. We were hoping to see many wild-flowers along the way, but found very few varieties & just sparse clusters. To our surprise, Pig pond had thousands of tadpoles, which was very interesting to see. Almost any trail you pick, you won't have any shade whatsoever. But still going in spring months means everything is lush green & its not too hot. We came back via Dinosaur lake trail & saw windmills, few elks & glimpse of San Luis Reservoir. Our hike was ~6 mile RT, 700 ft elevation. Good to visit this park during spring months only.

    S A.

    If you're a fan of Native California landscapes and wildlife habitat then this is the park you need to go and check out. There are areas that have NOT been grazed by cattle for the past 6 years and are pristine reminders of what California used to look like before/during the goldrush. Native California grasses can be seen such as the California State Grass: Purple Needlegrass (Nassella pulchra). Wildflowers were just starting to bloom and many beautiful species were found at every turn! Along with the riparian habitat you can see pristine oak savannas on the park. We sighted so much wildlife it was unbelievable - and not just mammals, but reptiles and amphibians as well. HUNTING IS NOT ALLOWED AT THIS PARK if you try it they will confiscate ALL your gear and catch you with the monitoring equipment.

    View of San Luis Reservoir from Pacheco State Park

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    17 years ago

    Well, if you have a horse you might have more fun than I did. Still, I found the historic aeromotor windmill and the Line Cabin interesting.

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    10 years ago

    A gorgeous park with green rolling hills and rigerous hiking trails. I highly recommend this park.

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    Like a lot of hikes in the Diablo range, your experience will depend much on the season.

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