Joseph D. Grant County Park

We stayed at Grant Ranch in June. The park campground was full.
Getting there- Maps will tell you to go down Quimby road. Do not go that way! The road is one lane with tight switch backs. Instead, go through Alum Rock. It only takes a few additional minutes and it is much safer.
About the park-Grant Ranch Park has a really interesting history and home tours of the original ranch house are offered throughout the year. Make it a point to take the home tour and learn all about J.D. Grant and his family. Its a wonderful story of intrigue and drama mixed in with wonderful California History! There are great hikes throughout the park and an area to do some star gazing. We saw quail, deer, frogs, lizards, turkey vultures and even a badger! If you like fishing there is a lake across the road from the main entrance for that.
The site- These sites do not have any hook ups but they do have fire pits and a bear box. Our site was large and private. We were very near the bathrooms which were very clean and offered free showers. Nothing fancy but they were clean!
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/JosephDGrant.aspx

We picked this park to be near family located in the San Francisco Bay area, and it offered a lovely, peaceful oasis away from the congestion and noise of the major metro area. But, it had several drawbacks including terrible access.

On the positive side, we loved the array of wildlife in the park – we frequently sighted deer, coyotes, and turkeys on the trails and in the campground. While much of the park has open sky, the campground is nestled among large oaks. The trees and the generous spacing between the sites adds to the sense of calm. There is an extensive trail network with interlocking loops, so hikers can choose from a variety of distances to cover. Our price reflects a 25% off season discount, which made it a very affordable option for the area.

The biggest negative is access to the park, which is located in the foothills of the Coast Range east of San Jose. The shortest road in, Quimby Road, is NOT suitable for towing. We had trouble executing some of the steep hairpin turns with just our truck and would certainly have damaged our trailer if we had been foolish enough to come in that route. Heed the warnings on the park web page! However, Mt. Hamilton Road is not significantly better. It is narrow, winding, hugging a mountainside, and features plenty of steep drop-offs with no guard rails. We regularly used 1.5 lanes to bring the rig around the many narrow blind turns, which was a little nerve wracking. There are also low overhanging branches. I would be very hesitant to bring a large Class A or 5th Wheel up that road.

The campground itself is also not big rig friendly. The sites and the one-lane campground loop road are narrow, with high curbs on the sides, so there is little room to maneuver to get parked. We are pretty good at squeezing into tight spaces and this was really tough. Also, most of the spots have very steep driveways which further complicate the parking process. On our site, the trailer pad was fairly level but our truck was parked on a 6% grade! For larger rigs, the only sites that really work well are #6 (this also has the best views), #1, and #22. Of these, the best sites for solar generation are #1 and #6.

The bathrooms were clean, but the shower area has a major design defect – there is no private changing area. The changing area is also the “lobby” of the bathroom where sinks and hand dryers are located. Water was acceptably warm and the push-button timing was OK but not overly generous.

We had no service at all on AT&T within the campground. Service is available as soon as you drive back over the ridge and establish line of sight with San Jose, either via Quimby Road or Mt. Hamilton Road.

Pros: Considering the proximity to SJ, it's a nice getaway area. Nice hiking, fairly well spaced campsites. My neighbors were nice and considerate. The gals at the front booth were very nice.

Cons: I was there in my 24' Class C. It was a helluva drive up 130 to get there, and as I was going back down, I swore to never drive that road again. It's essentially a 20 minute drive to go five miles, which gives you an idea of the road. I didn't see one level campsite, and none had tent pads. Just dirt. Zero cell service (Verizon or Sprint) for me, and loads of flies...those that like to dive bomb into your ears. Overall, I just wasn't impressed.

I did hike a mile and a half up a hill and got one bar of service...made all my calls up there. And $34 for dry camping is a bit much, IMO.

Definitely check the map before you go so that you don't go up Quimby Rd. by mistake. Go up 130 which is much better. Its a great little park and well worth the effort. No hookups for RV but you get a beautiful campground, spacious sites with picnic table, and lots of hiking or biking in the area. Showers are not working in winter but the water is. Oh..and no cell phone coverage with Verizon which was so awesome!

We tent camp with our hatchback, so none of the “access issues” affect us. We always take Quimby Road and it’s fine. Better than many local mountain roads IMO, and offers incredible views of the valley. But no, not for large vehicles and trailers. I think there’s a notice at the bottom of the hill that it’s not suitable. Also would pay to check road conditions before heading up after substantial rains as there can be mud and rocks on the road. Clean camp sites, most at least partially shaded. Friendly park staff. We’ve tried several sites and never had a problem finding a flat enough place to set up. We’ve been disturbed by campers packing up early, but not by late-night partiers. Lots of good hikes in and around the valley. A gem.