Turn right onto Hidalgo Cemetery Trail and pass ruins of the on-site mine supervisor's house, on the right. Continuing past the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace ruins, the trail veers left. After going through a short wooded section, the old Mine Hill Rotary Furnace ruins come into view. This section follows the Mine Hill hillside that drops off to the right, and continues up on the left to the Mine Hill summit. At the Castillero Trail junction, stay to the right to follow Castillero Trail that is an open trail with views of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the right. Visit the site of the old Catherine Tunnel by turning right and following the Catherine Tunnel Spur.įrom the Catherine Tunnel Spur, go left onto Mine Hill Trail. A little over a half mile after passing Castillero Trail, a short spur trail to Catherine Tunnel is reached. Stay to the right to continue on Mine Hill Trail. Soon, another junction with Castillero Trail will be reached, as Mine Hill Trail emerges from the woods, and views of the Santa Cruz Mountains become visible. Upon returning to Mine Hill Trail, go left on it. Continue through the woods for a third of a mile to the San Cristobal Mine Spur, and turn left onto it, to visit the old San Cristobal Mine tunnel entrance. After passing the Powder House, the trail rejoins Mine Hill Trail. Soon a small wooden structure, the restored Powder House, comes into view. The trail continues through the woods, on the side of Mine Hill that is to the right of the trail. Towards the site of the old April Tunnel entrance, the trail veers left at the steep hillside of Mine Hill. The trail continues to April Trestle and runs next to it, before making a U-turn to run along the hillside overlooking April Trestle that is a short ways below the trail. The trail then does a U-turn, and old mining trestle remnants, April Trestle, come into view on a distant hillside. Follow April Trail as it gradually descends, emerging from the woods on a hillside, with views of the San Francisco South Bay area and East Bay hills, to the right. Shortly after a junction with Castillero Trail, April Trail is reached. Several trail junctions are passed, and one should make sure to continue on Mine Hill Trail. The trail winds through the woods, gradually climbing on the hillsides of the rugged hills of southeastern Quicksilver Park. Facilities plans were created and an Environmental Impact Report was prepared.This hike begins on Mine Hill Trail at Quicksilver Park's Hacienda entrance. The county parks director envisioned a historic park where visitors could experience the mining past and also enjoy the biodiversity of the natural setting. Very soon after buying the mining property in 1976, Santa Clara County began planning for park usage, in an era where the county parks program was aggressively expanding. In the period 1976 to 1978, the county developed a number of new large parks in rapid succession including Grant Ranch Park, Sanborn Park and Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Army Corps of Engineers and there is a memorial honoring the Civilian Conservation Corps firefighters that were stationed there for a time. Some structures were built later by the U.S. The remains of a variety of structures left over from the 135 years of mining activity, including housing for the up to 1,800 miners, are scattered about the park, with the biggest concentration at what was known as English Camp, established by Cornish miners in the 1860s. By the time Santa Clara County bought the mines in 1976 and ended operations, 83,974,076 pounds (37,388 metric tons) of mercury (worth more than US$70 million) had been extracted. The mines were highly important during the California Gold Rush, since mercury was used to extract gold from ore. The park's New Almaden Mines were in operation from 1847 to 1976. The park is named after the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines, which were named after the mercury mine in (old) Almadén, Spain, and produced mercury that was used to process ore during the Gold Rush. The Casa Grande Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is located in nearby New Almaden. Adjacent to the park is the Almaden Reservoir. Its grounds include the Guadalupe Reservoir and features sweeping views of San Jose. The park is owned by the County of Santa Clara and managed by the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department. The park's elevation varies greatly: the most used entrances (on the east side of the park) are less than 600 feet (183 m) above sea level, while the highest point in the park is over 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level. Bobcat in wintertime, 100 meters from the trailĪlmaden Quicksilver County Park is a 4,163 acres (17 km²) park that includes the grounds of former mercury ("quicksilver") mines adjacent to south San Jose, California, USA.
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