Nibbs Knob Trail

Description

This is one of the steepest trails in the Bay Area. It's awesome. You won't believe how steep this is! It climbs 1600ft in just over 1 mile. The trail is in fact a fire road. Gosh, you'd need a good 4x4 to climb this guy.

It's an out and back. You have to return exactly the way you go out. However it feels like 5 miles out and 0.5 miles back! There are parts of the trail where the grade is about 1:3. If you're training for Western States, this is your "Devil's Thumb Simulator".

The trail starts in a campground in Uvas Canyon County Park. When you leave the parking lot, there's only a brief run of about 400m before the climbing starts. You're not even warmed up when you're climbing the North Face of the Knob. About half way up the trail, you get above the tree line and there are wonderful views to the east to Morgan Hill and south to Gilroy and the Salinas Valley. It's really beautiful.

Raiida and I really enjoyed this run. It's so tough, it's laughably hard. However it is only 1.6 miles to the top and we made it there in 35 minutes. After a little rest and a few photos, we descended effortlessly to the parking lot. Highly Recommended if you want a fun challenge. Resting at the top felt wonderful - we worked for our reward.

Location

The Trail is located about 25 minutes south of Santa Teresa Ligthrail station. Proceed down Santa Teresa Blvd, Right on Bailey, Left on McKean (which becomes Uvas Road), Right on Croy. Uvas Canyon Park is at the end of Croy. Usual County Parking Fees apply. However your Santa Clara County Park pass for Saturday Striders at Stevens Creek County Park should give you free use of the facilities.

Maps, Photos and More Information

Updated: November 15, 2007

Trail Data Sheets

Here are a series of great trails which we've run around the area:
(In alphabetical order!)

Alum Rock Park
Coyote Peak Trail
Guadalupe Park Trail
Los Gatos Creek Trail
Nibbs Knob Trail
Quicksilver Park