This is for all you Bay Area types hot to check out the latest trails:

In one of the largest trail-building projects ever in the Santa Clara County parks system, crews have begun construction that will double the miles of trails at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park.

Currently the park, between San Jose and Morgan Hill, has 13 miles of trails. Under a $600,000 grant from the state, 14 miles of trails will be added.

Nearly all the new trails — roughly 12.5 miles — will be open to horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and walking dogs on leashes. The other 1.5 miles will be open to everything but horseback riding. Existing trails are open to all those uses.

The Harvey Bear Ranch is in the foothills on the way up to Henry Coe State Park. The Santa Clara County Parks Department bought the ranch couple years back, presumably to add some trails to the camping, fishing and boating at Coyote Lake. The combined acreage of the former ranch and park make it second only to Grant County Park in size.

Trail Center notes that a trail-building day is planned at the park on June 2, National Trails Day. Hmm, what do you think, folks, another blogger get-together date?

(Here’s a Tom Stienstra article describing the park.)