46 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} transcend the madness below. A sense of peaceful quiet settles in. As Richard leads me and my husband up the Monument Trail, the Menlo Park resident tells us he signed up for the park’s Uniformed Volunteer training on his very first visit. Its environmental study program pairs with practical skills like trail clearing, emergency reporting and matching hikers with the right trails for their experience level. The oak- and pine-studded hills offer something satisfying for everyone, Richard says. Visitors with limited hiking ability may walk a quartermile to relish the vista and breathe the fresh air while resting on a trailPhone won’t stop buzzing? Blood pressure rising along with the size of your to-do list? Take note of Sada Coe’s words: “The murmuring hills sighed and whispered … I felt compelled to stop and listen.” Sada is the reason that Henry Coe State Park exists. This 87,000-plus-acre gem weighs in as the largest state park in Northern California. And much like a giant gemstone, Coe is a multifaceted treasure. If you’ve never heard of Coe Park, you’re not alone. The park has gone unnoticed by some neighbors for 25 years or more, according to Richard Todd, the uniformed volunteer who shows us around. Yet newcomers and park regulars confirm that once you enter Coe’s modest gate just minutes from the freeway, you EXPLORING coe park beckons words by LOUREEN MURPHY side bench. Hardier souls can test themselves on the rigorous Mt. Sizer loop, a worthwhile trek across hardscrabble terrain taking up to nine hours. “People can’t grasp the size of 87,000 acres, but when I tell them we have 250 miles of hiking trails, they get it,” Richard shares. As we near the secluded monument to the park’s namesake, Richard points to the Middle Ridge and beyond it, Blue Ridge, the “crown jewel” of Coe. The park rewards those willing to go deep and wide with views of lakes and waterfalls, glorious vistas of the Pacific on one side and the Sierras on the other. Photographers might capture glimpses of blacktailed deer, bobcats, eagles or a stunning rainbow of wildflowers. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
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