I feel bad about leaving negative feedback on a FREE park, of all things. But I felt that the space…read morewas unsafe and dirty, so based on my recent impressions, I don't recommend this hike.
We arrived before 8AM so the parking lots at the staging areas still had their gates closed. We parked on Hollister, around a block before Main. It did not look like there were any parking restrictions. So we started the hike on the western side of the park, which based on prior Yelp reviews, probably is not the best area to hike.
As we progressed through the hike, we headed past multiple tents (unclear if seeing a portion of a homeless encampment or just scattered tents). We got startled by someone who seemed to materialize suddenly outside a tent into the trail. But what made us leave the area was an individual who was yelling angrily and cursing heading toward us. Maybe he was just not a morning person, but we clearly couldn't go any further.
Other issues:
Each dog we came across was an unleashed dog. The owners would be far behind, so the first two times, I thought they were wild dogs and was not certain of their friendliness. As an avid hiker, this does not seem to be the usual hiking etiquette.
Trail is clearly demarcated and paved, but it seemed to have squashed piles of poo versus mud.
Initially we went in the wrong direction and went under a dark bridge (see photo, which makes it look less ominous than it actually was). I think this direction actually does take people on a specific trail, but this one was not part of the 8mi out-and-back hike we were planning. If you end up here, you likely took a wrong turn.
As we walked, I felt that the park smelled like eucalyptus mixed with something not so pleasant. Not sure what it was, but we had to switch frequently to mouth -breathing, which is not a typical problem I have during hikes.
It was meant to be an 8mi hike but we turned back early because we did not feel very comfortable after being possibly chased so ended up just completing 1.6mi. Again, I hate to criticize parks, especially such a large natural space in a sea of urbanity. But this was not a fun hike, and I will never return unless the area becomes less unwelcoming.