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Coyote Lake – Harvey Bear Ranch County Park

Date: (Sun.) Jan. 26, 2025
Location: Gilroy, CA
Event Directors: , - 707.567.3496
Course Setters: Tom De Vre, Theo Verhoeven
Type: B; Standard 7-course event for beginners through advanced; at the Coyote Lake side of the park as in previous years; everyone is welcome, including non-members and beginners, with free, brief, beginner instruction available

Related Event Information

Event Results Optional Online Registration (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/coyotelake2025) Course Setters' Notes Attackpoint Event Page (http://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp/event_58958) Last Year’s Event

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


January 22nd Reminders

Pre-registration is highly encouraged, as it greatly simplifies event-day logistics for our Registration team, keeps the lines short, helps us ensure we have enough maps for everyone, and allows you to bypass the lines and proceed straight to the Start when you arrive! If you haven't yet registered but plan to attend, you can register online (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/coyotelake2025) until Saturday at 6 PM. (You can also see who is already registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/coyotelake2025).)
There are two Brown-course options: a Short Brown course and a (regular) Brown course. Everyone who will do either the Short Brown or Brown course should register for their best guess at the course they will do. The two courses share a map, and orienteers can decide in the field whether they want to finish with the Short Brown course or continue on for a few more controls to complete the (full) Brown course. However, if you change from your initial plan, please tell the E-punch crew before you download.
We would greatly appreciate having a few more volunteers. The open tasks are listed below.
There is a $6 vehicle entrance fee for all park users. This fee must be paid even if there is no one in the entrance booth. There is a machine that takes payment (with debit/credit cards) and envelopes for paying with cash.
There will be separate start lines for the NJROTC group and everyone else. Make sure you are standing in the correct queue!


Everyone is welcome to attend this event. We especially love beginners. There will be free, short, beginner clinics at the event to get you started.

Coyote Lake – Harvey Bear Ranch County Park is a beautiful wilderness park near Gilroy with some wonderful views. In January the park will be green and lush. The terrain is typical oak woodland. It is interesting and somewhat steep. Course designers Theo Verhoeven and Tom De Vre will set the standard seven courses, plus a shortened Brown course.

The conditions in the park are perfect: emerald green hills, soft footing, and breathtaking views.

Important Note
We will be using the boat-launch parking lot at Coyote Lake — not the parking lot at Harvey Bear Ranch (off of San Martin Avenue) that we used for the 2022 event. That is, we will park at the boat launch accessed from the “Coyote Lake” entrance to the park (which we used last year and previous years). Driving directions are below.

This event will also feature the Navy JROTC Area 22 Championships, which will determine the high schools that will go on to represent this area at the National Championships! Teams competing in the NJROTC Area 22 Championships must register in advance by contacting Jerry Skirvin () for instructions.

The park’s website is here (http://parks.sccgov.org/santa-clara-county-parks/coyote-lake-harvey-bear-ranch-park).

Note From the Event Director
With the fresh new year comes fresh opportunities to return to the rolling green hills of South Bay and look for controls! This will be the first 7-course event of 2025. Please register in advance if you plan to attend, so that you can skip the lines and make things easier for our Registration team.
As always, volunteers are greatly appreciated. The usual roles are available, including setup, starts, cleanup, and control pickup. If you haven't volunteered before, it's very simple and easy to do. Make this the year you give back to the sport and community we all know and love!
Note that this event will also serve as the Navy JROTC Area 22 Championships, which will determine the teams that advance to the national championships. The Navy JROTC cadets will have a separate start line, but you'll likely see them around the park. Having enough volunteers will keep the event running smoothly and leave a good impression on these young orienteers and others that attend the event, encouraging all to return for future events. Please consider helping out if you are able!
– Kat  (Jan. 5, 2025)

What is Orienteering?

An adventure! Discover the outdoors and discover yourself! You can explore a course by yourself or go as a team with your friends. You will get a highly detailed orienteering map, probably unlike any map you have seen before. The map will have a lot of detail on it, such as fences, boulders, lone trees, vegetation boundaries, and anything else you might see. Your course will be printed on the map.

Orienteering is easy to learn, a challenge to master, and incredibly fun! You can read more about orienteering here.

Schedule

  9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration open
  9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner clinics instruction (free)
 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
                   2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
Note: At registration, all participants under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian (the registration form is available here [12KB PDF]).
Note: The Start is an 800 m, mostly flat, walk from the assembly area. Plan accordingly.

You can register and start on the courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00. (You can if you want, but please don’t show up earlier and expect to be served.)

Beginner clinics are 15–20 minute, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the Beginner (White) course.

Note: Beginners are given their White- or Yellow-course maps at registration. You should get your map before joining a beginner clinic.

Everyone must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then promptly go to the download tent, even if they have not completed their course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

After you finish, stick around and socialize with other participants! Beginners should use this opportunity to ask any questions they have.

Costs and Registration

Optional online registration (and payment) is available as described below.
Note: Teams competing in the NJROTC Area 22 Championships must register in advance by contacting Jerry Skirvin () for instructions.

The following fees apply for this event:

  $3 for each junior on the beginner (White) and advanced beginner (Yellow) courses
  $8 for each adult on the beginner and advanced beginner courses
  $5 for each junior on the intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown, Green, Red, Blue) courses  
$15 for each member on the intermediate and advanced courses
$20 for each non-member on the intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; you'll need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  
Notes:
  • Juniors are age 8 through 20. Youth under age 8 are free.
  • You can register at the event or online before the event (see below).
  • You can rent an E-punch finger stick online, and pick it up at the event.
  • If you register online, you can rent a compass at the event.
  • At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal, Venmo).
  • There is no charge for a second course (but you must end up paying for the more expensive course — e.g., the Orange course after a beginner course).
  • Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)

In addition to the above costs, there is a $6 per-car park entrance fee. Pay at the entrance kiosk (cash or credit cards accepted). If the kiosk is not staffed, there is a machine that takes payment (with debit/credit cards) and cash envelopes for exact-change cash payment.

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/12KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.)

Optional Online Registration

Online registration has closed, but you can still register at the event.

Notes:
  • Online registration is not required​—​you can register at the event.
  • You can see who is registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/coyotelake2025) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event).

Park Rules

Please note that horses always have the right of way. If you encounter equestrians while running on a multi-use trail or road, please walk until you are clear of the horses. A startled horse could throw and injure the rider. Also be careful not to jump onto a trail when horses are nearby.

Venue Facilities

The assembly area (registration and E-punch) are on the south side of the parking lot. The driving directions are below.

There are restrooms in the parking lot, and a few picnic tables down by the lake. Water fountains are available in the parking area.

Cell phone service is spotty at best, but there is a pay phone(!) behind the restrooms, for outgoing calls only.

Food

Please bring your own lunch and beverages. Due to park restrictions, we will not serve snacks at this event.

What to Bring

For the beginner courses (White and Yellow), comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.

For intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown through Blue) courses, leg cover or gaiters are recommended, as well as shoes with some extra grip on the sole.

A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.

We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident fingerstick. If you don’t have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5. (Use of the E-punch system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Courses

The standard set of courses, from beginner to advanced, will be available at this event. The (final) course details are below.

Be sure to read the Course Setter’s Notes for more information. 

                                                   Map    Map              
    Course       Distance     Climb     Controls  Scale   Size   Navigation
    White         2.9 km   115 m (4.0%)    10    1:7500   8½x11  Beginner      
    Yellow        2.8 km   120 m (4.3%)    10    1:7500   8½x11  Adv. Beginner
    Orange        3.4 km   215 m (6.3%)    13    1:7500   8½x11  Intermediate  
    Short Brown   2.4 km   135 m (5.6%)     9    1:7500   8½x11  Advanced      
    Brown         3.5 km   190 m (5.4%)    12    1:7500   8½x11  Advanced
    Green         5.0 km   265 m (5.3%)    12    1:10000  8½x11  Advanced
    Red           6.6 km   295 m (4.5%)    18    1:10000  11x17  Advanced
    Blue          8.0 km   320 m (4.0%)    20    1:10000  11x17  Advanced

Notes:
  • The Start for all the courses is an 800 m, mostly flat, walk from the assembly area. Please follow the streamers to the Start area.
  • There will be separate start lines for the NJROTC group and everyone else. The start lines should be well-labeled, but make sure you are standing in the correct queue!
  • Maps for the Beginner courses (White and Yellow) are given out at registration, and can be looked at before starting the course.
  • Maps for the Intermediate course (Orange) and Advanced courses (Brown through Blue) are provided at the Start, and must not be looked at before starting the course.
  • Beginners should be aware that the course lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Your actual distance will be somewhat longer, even if you don't make any errors. The climb numbers represent the amount of ascending that would be done on the "optimum route" (in the Course Setters’ opinion), without regard for any descending.
  • Orange is a challenging intermediate course at this event. You don't need to use a compass (though it might be handy), but it might be a challenge to step up from Yellow to Orange at this event.
  • Everyone who will do either the Short Brown or Brown course should register for their best guess at the course they will do. The two courses share a map, and orienteers can decide in the field whether they want to finish with the Short Brown course or continue on for a few more controls to complete the (full) Brown course. However, if you change from your initial plan, please tell the E-punch crew before you download.

The map contour interval is 5 m. Note that the magnetic-north lines on all the maps are not parallel to the edge of the paper — they are at approximately a 15° angle.

The White course is a bit longer than usual, because there are not many available trails. But the Start is within a few minutes walk from the registration area.

As noted above, horses always have the right of way. If you encounter a horse, you must stop running and respond to the rider’s direction.

Hazards

Deer ticks are found in this area and may carry Lyme disease. For prevention and treatment of tick bites, see this webpage (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html).

For participants on the intermediate and advanced courses, the park has some poison oak which you will want to avoid. It looks like this when it has leaves. Washing clothes and shoes, and bathing with dishwashing soap or a commercial product such as Tecnu, is recommended to remove the irritant oil. (Note that you can be exposed through clothing, and that stalks without leaves are still a risk.)

In some areas of the park, and for all the intermediate and advanced courses, you will go through terrain with scattered small rocks that can cause a fall or twisted ankle if one is not paying attention or is going at very high speeds.

Most of the wildlife, such as wild pigs, turkeys and deer, that roam these hillsides will not pose a problem, as they will most likely run away when they hear or see you. There are also cows that graze in this park, so please run around groups of cows as to not startle them (and never get between a calf and its mother!).

Request for Volunteers

Events like this wouldn't be possible without the support of our volunteers. A huge thank you to the many people who have already signed up to volunteer at Coyote Lake — your help is very much appreciated!

If you'd like to contribute and haven't signed up yet, the following positions are still available:

One person for Greeter/Registration (9:00–10:00 AM)  Filled, thanks!
A second person on Early Start (9:30–11:00 AM)  Filled, thanks!
3–4 people for control pickup (2:00 PM onwards)

All volunteers will be able to run a course!

If you can help with any of those roles (for the entire time period shown or a part of it), please send email to Event Director Kat Lan (). Your help will be appreciated.

Driving Directions

The event headquarters will be at the boat launch accessed from the "Coyote Lake" entrance to the park — the same place as last year. Do not go to the "Harvey Bear Ranch" entrance to the park — that is, do not go to where we were in 2022!

The approximate coordinates are 37.0926,-121.5425.

From San Jose, go south on highway 101. Allow at least 50 minutes from the junction of 101-280-680. Take exit 357, Leavesley Road/CA-152W (which is before the CA-152E exit), and go east on Leavesley Rd 1.8 miles. Turn left onto New Avenue, and go 0.6 miles to Roop Rd. Turn right onto Roop Rd.

Alternative: You can save about 2 miles (but possibly not much time) by exiting 101 at San Martin Avenue, heading east, following it around the bends until it becomes New Avenue, and going south to the junction with Roop Rd. Turn left onto Roop Rd and continue with the directions below.

Go 3.2 miles to Coyote Reservoir Rd (named Coyote Lake Rd in some navigation systems) and the park entrance (with a sign "Coyote Lake / Harvey Bear Ranch / County Park / Coyote Lake Entrance"). (Note: At approximately 2.8 miles along Roop Rd there is a park entrance on the left​—​do not take that entrance​—​instead, continue on to Coyote Reservoir Rd [Coyote Lake Rd].) Once you turn onto Coyote Reservoir Rd (Coyote Lake Rd), go 1 mile to the entrance kiosk.

Pay the $6 entrance fee (by cash or credit card if the kiosk is staffed, otherwise cash only), and then continue 1.3 miles on the main road to the boat-launch parking area.

Parking is in the boat launch parking area. The parking spaces are designed for vehicles with boat trailers. There will not be any boat trailers present, so please park two cars in each of these parking spaces.