Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Joseph D. Grant County Park

Date: (Sun.) May. 8, 2011
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 408.878.5073
Course Setter: Damian Swift
Type: B; Standard courses for beginners through advanced, plus a Long Orange course for adventure racers and runners

Related Event Information

Course Setters' Notes Last Year's Event Event Results

Please note that fees and time limits apply, unless otherwise mentioned below. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


Join us for the 2011 meet in the southern section of Joe Grant park. Damian Swift will be setting the full set of standard courses: White and Yellow for beginners, Orange and Long Orange for people with some experience, and Brown, Green, Red, and Blue for advanced orienteers. 

Joseph Grant County Park lies in a valley between the Santa Clara Valley and Mount Hamilton. The park is moderately hilly. It includes a mix of oak forest and large open areas with plenty of topographic variety.

Mark your calendars for one of the Bay Area's classic venues.

The wildflowers will be in full bloom, so bring along mom and enjoy the season.

Courses

The following courses will be available: 

   Course        Length   Climb  Controls  Technical Difficulty/Physical Difficulty

   White         2.3 km    50 m     8      Beginner (on trails)/Easy
   Yellow        3.7 km   100 m     9      Advanced Beginner (on or close to trails)/
                                             Moderately easy
   Orange        4.0 km   250 m    11      Intermediate (mostly off-trail)/Moderate
   Long Orange   6.7 km   500 m    18      Intermediate (mostly off-trail)/Strenuous,
                                             intended for adventure runners
   Brown         3.5 km   150 m    10      Advanced
   Green         4.7 km   250 m    13      Advanced
   Red           7.1 km   400 m    16      Advanced
   Blue         10.2 km   500 m    21      Advanced

The Start and Finish are close to the registration area, because we hate rushing to remote starts.

It's a good idea for newcomers to orienteering to start with an easy course. If you run White or Yellow and find it too easy, you can go out again on Yellow or Orange, respectively, with no controls in common.

Be sure to read the Course Setters' Notes for more information.

Please Volunteer

Please volunteer to help out at this event. No experience is needed for most tasks — we'll be happy to show you what to do.

Driving Directions

To reach the park, take I-680 to the Alum Rock Avenue exit in San Jose. Head east on Alum Rock to Mt. Hamilton Road. Take a right onto Mt. Hamilton Rd and proceed about 7.5 miles to the park entrance to your right. After paying the entry fee (about $7), go about 0.6 miles to the parking area designated by the O' signs.

Here's an alternative route choice (after all, orienteering is all about route choice): Quimby Road is believed to be much faster, with a shorter (but steeper) windy road, than Mt. Hamilton Rd from Alum Rock. Some people recommend this route even for those coming from the north on 280 or 101. In that case, exit 101 south at Tully Rd, and head east (toward the hills). Turn right onto Quimby Rd (just before East Ridge Shopping Center); take this up and over the hill until it meets Mt Hamilton Road. Turn right and go a few hundred yards to the park entrance.

From the south, coming up 101, take the Capitol Expy exit and head east (toward the hills). Go about 1.5 miles and turn right onto Quimby Road.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event.

Carpool Site

People sometimes meet at the junction of Alum Rock Ave and Mt. Hamilton Rd, where there is plenty of parking. That might seem so near the park as to be not helpful, but it does save the twisty drive up Mt. Hamilton Rd, and the park entrance fee for the cars that are left below.

Similarly, people taking the Quimby Rd route could meet at East Ridge Shopping Center (at Tully and Quimby).