A cute shot of Mr. & Mrs. Adrian & Evelyn in front of the Black Rock Waterfalls.

Uvas Canyon Waterfalls, CA

Did you know that there is a place in the San Francisco Bay Area with a notable amount of waterfalls? Neither did we, but the secret is now out. The Uvas Canyon Park in the South Bay (south of San Jose and west of Morgan Hills) has waterfalls, and there are many.

I met up with Adrian and Evelyn in South San Jose embarrassingly late due to getting lost, but fortunately they forgave me and we carpooled over to the Uvas Canyon Park through some backroads and arrived about 45 minutes later. To get to the park, one has to drive by farms, mansions, direlict outdoor structures wonderfully wooded areas. Most notably, one has to pass through Sveadal, a private resort belonging to the Swedish American Patriotic League. From external appearances, Sveadal looked like an upscale summer camp and included some tennis courts that some blondes in sportbras were playing at. It seemed like the quality of life was very high.

Indeed, when we parked and got out of the car, we were immersed in a world dominated by the sounds of rushing waterfalls. We only had to walk half a mile to see the first one. While not exactly Niagara Falls or even Yosemite Falls, we were both surprised and amazed by how many water falls there were. The nicest ones were about 20-feet high at the Black Rock Waterfalls.

Some of the trails were surprisingly steep, a couple of which had some pretty nice views of the areas well east of the park. There were signs out warning about Mountain Lions, but we never saw them. We only had a couple of hours to go hiking before dark so we did not get to do all of the trails; three or four hours probably would suffice to do all of them, however.

All in all we agreed that not only was it well worth it to come out here to go hiking, but that this was one of the nices county parks in the SF Bay Area. Photos are here.

Did you know that the SF Bay Area has waterfalls?  Neither did we.  Here is Evelyn and Adrian walking down one of the several bridge walkways in the Uvas Canyon County Park.
Did you know that the SF Bay Area has waterfalls? Neither did we. Here is Evelyn and Adrian walking down one of the several bridge walkways in the Uvas Canyon County Park.
Ok, so the waterfalls aren't exactly Niagara Falls, as Adrian would joke, but they are still nice.  Here's one of the shorter ones...
Ok, so the waterfalls aren't exactly Niagara Falls, as Adrian would joke, but they are still nice. Here's one of the shorter ones...
And a bridge...
And a bridge...
A cute shot of Mr. & Mrs. Adrian & Evelyn in front of the Black Rock Waterfalls.
A cute shot of Mr. & Mrs. Adrian & Evelyn in front of the Black Rock Waterfalls.
Felix Wong gives a wave in front of the same waterfall.
Felix Wong gives a wave in front of the same waterfall.
After the Black Rock Waterfall we went up a surprisingly steep 1/2-mile section to what we hoped would be a good lookout point.
After the Black Rock Waterfall we went up a surprisingly steep 1/2-mile section to what we hoped would be a good lookout point.
Instead, at the top we were greeted by the view of a picnic table with a cup on it.  Oh well.
Instead, at the top we were greeted by the view of a picnic table with a cup on it. Oh well.
One of the trails we took was the Basin Falls Trail.
One of the trails we took was the Basin Falls Trail.
Evelyn in front of another waterfall.
Evelyn in front of another waterfall.
Adrian being pensive.  We all agreed that coming out for this hike was well worth it!
Adrian being pensive. We all agreed that coming out for this hike was well worth it!