Almaden Quicksilver - jewel of a park
by sevry - Written: Oct 09 '02 (Updated Oct 10 '02)
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Pros: Convenient, views, history
Cons: A few steep trails if not physically prepared
The Bottom Line: Trails if you allow the time. History. Great views. Friendly people.
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| sevry's Full Review: Almaden Quicksilver County Park |
Jewel in the local county park system, which has quite a number of hiking/biking/riding parks in this area around the Santa Teresa IBM plant (IBM even owns part of one of these parks). Was set for development, land parcelled and set to sell. And it's such a beautiful area, with a history of extensive development, existing roads and traces of roadcuts, that it would have sold in a day. The county stepped in and preserved it for the rest of us who don't want to get shot trespassing on what would have become private property (most of the coastal hills around the Bay Area are private property/no parking as it is, that they don't need to lock out more).
This was a lucrative mercury mining area, and at times it was one of the most productive mines, of any type, in US history. The ore was originally discovered by the Spanish, and named after the famous Almaden mercury mine in Spain, the most productive mercury mine in history. It proceeded in stages, following initial Spanish efforts, to large scale production, to sinking new shafts and moving the works as areas were mined out. It continued up to the 1970s when health concerns closed the last re-mining operations. People had leased parcels from the county. People lived in homes up on these hills. During historical mining times, thousands of people built homes in the area, way up in the hills. As one of these settlements died out, the government opened a WPA camp in the 1930s for boys (they raised poles and strung lines up through the mountains, some still there as if they'd been built yesterday). Many of the existing ruins date from either the WPA days, or WWII mining operations, or the more recent private ownership before the county bought the area for a park and saved it from development.
The park is 'multi-use' for hikers, bikers and riders. It tends to favor hikers. But you find a number of mountain bikers and 'exercise' cylists. And the center of each trailhead lot is set aside for those who trailer in their horses (though some locals ride up into the park trails from their homes, as well - I think I've passed that guy in the photo, above, on the trail; they're on a section between the Mockingbird Area and Mine Hill).
So there are two main trailheads. Another, called McAbee, is a small street parking area. And it's not easy to find. The first trailhead is a large paved lot, with a horse trough, picnic areas, and bathroom facilities. It's reached up and over the residential street, Mockingbird Hill Lane, off Old Almaden Rd. Old Almaden, in turn, forks off Almaden Bvld. And Almaden Bvld, three or four miles distant, is the ramp onto the 85 freeway. So.
The other main trailhead is a smaller dirt lot called the Hacienda trailhead, just on the other side of the old town, next to a very large open field. The field was the site of the first big scale production shops for reducing/distilling mercury. All that's left of that is a large chimney, just on the hill above, used to get the dangerous hot mercury vapor and byproducts up away from people. It's about 70ft, and was recently retrofitted and repaired, I believe. But you can't walk straight up to it, unless you climb the face of the hill. Walking to it requires walking all around and up into the mine area, and then all the way back down again, if you have time. As you walk the Hacienda trail, though, you don't lose site of the chimney most of the way up. It's big.
Probably then, the best place to start is just a little ways from the Hacienda trailhead. In the old office building, the 'Hacienda', for the mining company, they now have a modest but interesting museum, geared particularly for grade school outings and tours. The rangers there can be quite knowledgable. Books are sold concerning park history. You can get a sense of methods and life of the miners. And so on. It's worth the stop.
Hacienda begins at a closed gate. Everyone has to 'sneak' around. There are some ruined pumps and piping fenced off in the field (don't know how old, but probably not from the original 19th century plant). You ascend quickly. But you're fresh, so it's easy. By the time you get the 1/8th mile or so up to the fork in the trail, the parking lot looks awfully small below. Mine Hill to the right is not such a bad climb. Hacienda to the left takes you directly to the ruins of the old English camp/town above, though, and is a slightly slower ascent, or at least longer.
If you've got your second wind, if you need it, and have been watching the old chimney, and walking past the two service towers next to the trail, you find, finally, a large slope ahead. It's just next to Englishtown, and was part of it, originally. Homes, or the bare remains, wind out around this hill, along overgrown 'offtrail' paths, some of which look like they were used yesterday, once you get past the overgrown bits. If you stay on the trail, you can see some hints of road cuts on this slope above. As you walk up to the flatter area, you're walking past the lots, if not any remains, of a series of small homes built right along the old road, now the trail. Up on the flat you'll find the old barn and a shack that appear in the original town photos. Up across from these are the more recent WPA/WWII vintage buildings, including a large concrete vault now used for general storage, and used originally by later vintage mine managers for payroll and key documents. On top of the hill, among the remains of some rubber piping, probably from a more recent structure, is the site of the old Methodist Church.
Englishtown was for Welsh and Cornish Methodists. The Spanish Catholic contingent was just above the chimneys, mentioned before. And nothing remains of that site, save for artifacts down in the museum. Over and up from the barn is a placard commemorating the town. Up from that is another placard for the old schoolhouse. It used to have a conspicuous wide driveway. It's all overgrown. The path to the remains is through the undergrowth behind the placard. The wooden flooring remains. But the timbers and framing all collapsed on top.
As you go up from Englishtown, you can compare old photos with the trees remaining. You can actually identify some of these from old photos, and marvel at how many more have grown in just the last 100 years or so. The old mining families had really cleared those hilltops by comparison. The old photos make the area look almost like a desert, rather than an overgrown woodland, as now.
At the top of the hill you find more old structures, of recent vintage. And just over the hill are the remains of the last large scale effort in WWII, using a rotary furnace to vaporize the mercury, using rock quarried just over and above at the very peak. The rotary tubes and 'still' are still there, even if the plywood shed has fallen apart. The area is now fenced off to guard against theft. The large concrete entrance bunker, or so it looks, will be around many a century. Over and down the hills from here and you'd pass the Spanishtown site, and below it, that chimney. Long walk, particularly back up.
You could also exit Englishtown down toward the April Trail. It leads to the Powder House (dynamite), site of the old train trestle and mine elevator shaft. The shaft is sealed shut. The trestle is gone. And the Powder House has been completely rebuilt and restored - special project. It's the only restored structure in the park, of which I'm aware.
Also, in this area, you'll find a couple of trails hit by landslide. It's not so severe that people couldn't even walk below on the slide portion. But horses, trying to navigate the much thinner trail, could get in trouble. Signs warn riders not to hit this portion of the trails. But riders ignore those warnings (the long way around might seem too long - but the risk to the animal if it slips, you'd never forgive youself).
Back at Mockingbird, there's two more I'd mention. You can cut over to Mine Hill, of course. But getting there you can hit two trails. Out and around is the No Name, now Virl Norton, trail. It gets steep about a half mile or so in, after having wound behind some private property and horse pens. I've only seen people coming down. So I might be one of the few who walk up. It cuts across about halfway up. If you ignore that, you take the scenic route around. But there's some nice views, open hillsides and meadows, if you have the times
The other is an unmarked trail, as far as I know, used by the locals who you meet frequently on the trail. It narrows to a foot or so, at points, making two way traffic a little inconvenient. It winds down behind some residences high on the hills above. The views are different. The plants are somewhat unique. You take the right path from Mockingbird, go up and then down right once you see the small path winding down - can't miss it.
One could go on and on about this park, other trails, certain waypoints, and so on. The reservoir is very beautiful, the dam area on the other side of the park not so much so. Parking out along the reservoir is supposed to be restricted, but there are a couple of turnouts. And there are one or two private homes even out that way. But the rangers are cool. Some people bring little paddleboats. But the reservoir is supposed to have elevated mercury levels. And at any rate, the fish all throughout the area, if there are any, are said to be contaminated. Contrary to the above, there is no fishing allowed in the Quicksilver Park region, for the fear of concentrated mercury in the fish.
Different looks for different times of year. Summer in this area tends to be the Fall season. But summer can also be summer in this warm valley, away from the coastal fog. So summer and fall will find fewer blooms, but some interesting leaves, easier off trail walking with the dead grass laying about. Spring has the flower blooms and little puddles of water with the pond life, and high impassible grasses. Interesting if you take a look. But any time of the year is good.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Hiking & Trails
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