Another Guadalupe River Trail detour

Urban trail poaching in San Jose, California.

Those of you who regularly cycle along the Guadalupe River Trail north of Coleman Avenue and alongside Mineta San Jose International Airport have likely seen the “NO PUBLIC ACCESS” signs for that mystery trail on the east side of the river.

Tour of east side path Guadalupe River

I happened across found footage from somebody who illegally trespassed onto this path and discovered an amazing new land of wonder and excitement in this forbidden zone behind the fence!

Did you know this inaccessible path is PAVED while us schmucks get to ride on the sucky gravel path next to the airport?

City officials say they investigated opening this east side path tucked alongside the Guadalupe Parkway, but decided against it for a number of reasons. It’s mostly out of sight, so public safety is a concern, especially with the large “vagrant” (their words, not mine) population known to camp out back there. Chunks of stuff occasionally rain down onto the trail from Highway 87, and there are even concerns about the structural integrity of the outside surface of the Highway 87 retaining wall.

Since you can’t actually legally ride this trail, this video slideshow allows you to enjoy the smooth, paved path experience vicariously. Airport Parkway at the north end of this video connects to Technology Drive just east of the Airport, and becomes Brokaw Road by 1st Street.



Thank you to Silicon Valley bike blogger Lady Fleur for the fact checking and improvement suggestions.

Come back here Tuesday – I might just happen to find some more found footage of this trail. The Guadalupe River Trail on the west side of the river will be closed between I-880 north to Trimble Road Real Soon Now for three months. You may have already seen the construction equipment parked on the levees.

And if you’re not familiar with Lady Fleur, you really should check her out – here’s the link again for your convenience.

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