Location

The Three Creeks Trail (western alignment) is located within the Willow Glen neighborhood of San José. Future acquisitions will support the development of this trail into eastern San José.

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Description

The City of San José plans to develop the Three Creeks Trail (western alignment), a landscaped and paved Class I trail system that will connect to the Los Gatos Creek Trail, Guadalupe River Trail, Highway 87 Bikeway and Coyote Creek Trail. The western alignment runs from Lonus Street (north) to the Guadalupe River (south), and is currently open in an interim state.

Partial funding for property acquisition was provided through grants from the State of California (Roberti Z’Berg Harris Grant), the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, the County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. More information on these funders and their grant programs can be found by scrolling to the “Funding Support” section of this page.

Distance

0.9 mile

Map

• Map of Three Creeks Tail- Western Alignment
• Map of Three Creeks Trail- Eastern Alignment

Designation

The trail is not part of a regional, state or nationally-designated trail system.

Planning Documents (Western Alignment)

Pedestrian Bridge Concept Plan & Engineering Study

• Conceptual Plan- Bridge linking trail to Los Gatos Creek Trail:
  • Three Creeks Conceptual Plan Sheet 3
  • Three Creeks Conceptual Plan Sheet 4
  • Three Creeks Conceptual Plan Sheet 5

Plan sheets subject to change as master plan is completed.

Engineering Study

• Engineering Study of the existing trestle over Los Gatos Creek (7MB)
• Structural Assessment

Environmental Documents

Trestle Structure/Pedestrian Bridge

• Initial Study- Los Gatos Creek Trail Reach 4 (includes trestle and Coe Avenue gateway) (29MB)
• Mitigated Negative Declaration- Los Gatos Creek Trail Reach 4 (includes trestle)
• Three Creeks Informational memo (May 20, 2013)
• Three Creeks Informational memo Regarding EIR (September 16, 2014)
• Three Creeks Photo-documentation Report (October 2015)

Master Plan (Western Alignment)

Approved by City Council on November 4, 2014

Award-Winning Three Creeks Trail Master Plan - 30th Annual California Trails and Greenways Conference

The Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan has been broken into five (5) parts for easier download. Follow the links below to download the various parts of the document:

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 1

• Table of Contents, List of Figures and List of Abbreviations
• Section 1: Executive Summary
• Section 2: Site Setting
• Section 3: Goals and Objectives

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 2

• Section 4: Planning Process
• Section 5: Interagency Coordination

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 3a & 3b Section 6a

• Section 6a: Trail Alignment (1st half of chapter)

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 3a & 3b Section 6b

• Section 6b: Trail Alignment (2nd half of chapter)

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 4

• Section 7: Development Guidelines
• Section 8: Implementation

Three Creeks Trail Draft Master Plan Part 5

• Bibliography & Acknowledgements
• Appendix A

Planning Documents (Eastern Alignment)

• SKY Lane - Trail Vision Study -  Award-Winning Project, 2017 International Trails Symposium
• SKY Lane Rendering 1 (Spanning over Highway 87, and under future High-Speed Rail)
• SKY Lane Rendering 2 (Spanning over roof tops, seen from Senter Road, at Muni Stadium)
• SKY Lane Rendering 3 (Spanning over roof tops, seen from Senter Road, alternative view)
• Focus Group Report (June 2009 Investigation into eastern alignment development)

Design Documents

• Three Creeks Construction Documents (70MB Download)
• Three Creeks Storm Water Management - Fact Sheet
• Three Creeks Trail Landscape Palette
• Three Creeks Sketches of Trail Elements
• Three Creeks Strategic Tree Removal Plan

Funding Support

This project is made possible with funding from the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA). The OSA is an independent special district that protects and preserves the county's water resources, wildlife and working lands, including farms and ranches. Protecting water quality, iconic landscapes, family farms and outdoor recreation provides a good quality of life; supports the local economy by attracting a highly qualified workforce; and makes the Valley a vibrant, healthy place to live and work. The OSA champions San Jose trail development as a means to preserve open space in our urban areas and provide public access to parks and other open spaces in the surrounding area. OSA funding of over $3,200,000 supported the acquisition phase of this project.

The County of Santa Clara has provided significant funding through its Park Charter Fund to support for acquisition of the project lands. $2,000,000 in County funds supported purchase of the western alignment. The County has also provided $1,000,000 to supplement City and other funds for acquiring the eastern alignment.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District has provided $450,000 for development of the interim trail improvements along the western alignment. Access gates and signage clearly define the trail entries. This funding source also supports development of a pedestrian bridge to span Los Gatos Creek and link to that existing trail system.