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Joseph D. Grant County Park

Date: (Sun.) Mar. 14, 2010
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 408.878.5073
Course Setters: Jim Fish, Kelly Wells
Type: B; This will be the second day of an exciting weekend of orienteering in conjunction with the Western Region Interscholastic Championships. The first day will be Saturday at McLaren Park.

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

Remember that Daylight Saving Time begins on this date.


Join us for the 2010 spring meet in the southern section of Joe Grant park. Kelly Wells and Jim Fish have set the full set of standard courses: White, Yellow, Orange, Long Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue.

Joseph Grant County Park lies in a valley between Mount Hamilton and Santa Clara Valley. 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.

Courses

Here are the preliminary details of the courses:

                                           Technical       Physical  
   Course        Length   Climb  Controls  Difficulty      Difficulty
   
   White         2.5 km    65 m     13     Beginner        Trails
   Yellow        3.7 km   155 m     16     Adv. Beginner   Mostly Trails
   Orange        3.9 km   195 m     15     Intermediate    Intermediate
   Long Orange   6.4 km   375 m     21     Intermediate    Adventure Racer Tough
   Brown         4.2 km   230 m     11     Advanced        Hard
   Green         5.3 km   285 m     13     Advanced        Harder
   Red           5.9 km   315 m     14     Advanced        Very Hard
   Blue          7.1 km   360 m     16     Advanced        Mantracker Hard

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

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 $6), go about 0.4 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).