Coyote Lake - Harvey Bear Ranch Park

We arrived on a Thursday to only 1/3 full. Love that there’s plenty of space between sites. Site 18 is close to the meadow but not right up next to it. Next time I’d opt for 7, if I could. Our site had water and electric; dump station located just down the road and easy to access.

The road up is very winding, but pulling our 21’ was totally doable. We did see a big rig had pulled in our second day so apparently it is feasible, although I wouldn’t want to try it.

Beautiful spot, had a blast geocaching and hiking. Friday night was full and got significantly noisier. Free WiFi worked for loading a few websites or apps, but not for things like social media or email really.

Would absolutely stay again.

Our second year camping here. Road up to the campground is a bit windy but just take your time. Check in is easy with plenty of space for you to drive through the ranger area. Reservations highly recommended in advance. Some sites have electrical and water which is where we stayed. The RV sites have decent space around them so you aren't on top of each other. Bathrooms and showers with hot water are available. Ample garbage receptacles and the staff do a nice job keeping the grounds neat and tidy.
Spring time is very picturesque. Lake has more water in 2022 than in 2021 but still too low to launch a boat or kayak. Literally tens if not a hundred picnic spots on the west side of the lake. Barbeques where you can bring wood or briquets to cook at the picnic sites are plentiful. Fishing with a license is available.
There are miles of hiking trails and the tops of hills are accessible. Vistas over looking San Martin, the closest city, are great. Cattle roam the hills and wild turkeys abound. We didn't see any feral pigs but you can see where they would root around the base of the many oak trees throughout the hills. Cattle and turkeys will wander into the camping areas at night and early morning. Watch your step!
Cell coverage is not the greatest so going up the hill solves that problem. We found we had coverage in the morning. A cellular antenna on the top of the trailer allowed us data access throughout the day.
The dump station is convenient. Someone took the end of the fresh water flush hose which was a pain. I was able to rig a replacement to flush my blackwater tank.
We will come here again in the Spring at this has become a favorite spot.

We stayed in site 7 which was backed up to the large meadow leading to the lake/reservoir. I would definitely recommend trying to get a site in that area. The site itself was large, level, and paved sites. There were good hiking trails that were quickly accessed from the RV site. Lots and lots of wildlife when we went. We saw deer, turkeys, and coyotes.

A few of the cons were out cell booster didnt work well so we had to get on the Ranger's station wifi from our site. It was weak but we were able to do some work from our site with it. We went in the summer and it got hot during the day, no shade or tree cover. While it was nice to see a lot of wildlife, the packs of coyotes roaming the un-used tent sites made it a little scary to walk our dogs at night. Just make sure you have good head lamps and flash lights when you are out after dark. We are newbies so getting into the park was a little dicey with some of the turns on the mountain roads.

Not far from the town of Gilroy however The drive up the road was a bit scary narrow and steep cliffs. Be sure you keep your furry friends on their leash not only is it the law, There were tons of wildlife every day we would see something. Coyotes, bobcats, wild boars and tons of deer. Grounds were very clean.Showers and bathrooms are clean wish the showers ran a little hotter but serve the purpose. Cell service was not fantastic but acceptable, and Wi-Fi kept going in and out.
The four stars are only because of cell service and the scary road getting there. But it was extremely clean.

Stayed 4/19/17 - 4/20/17.  Its a great oasis outside of some big cities.  We stayed in site number seven which was pretty amazing.  It has a great view of the lake.  The site is like a small peninsula with water all around.  We camped with our friends who had a 23ft travel trailer.  They ran out of propane but were able to get more in the nearby town of Gilroy.

Super nice county park. Very well kept, spacious spots, easy to get into (either the dry camping or the hookup sites). Coyote Lake is pretty well drained at the moment, so there are no views of the lake except at the very farthest dry camp sites, and even those it's from a distance. However, the hillside is beautiful, saw a few family of wild pig, and really a peaceful site.
Will probably be back, easy drive from our house for a weekend getaway that feels like it's completely away from it all.
I did get a text message or two, but cell service in general is non-existent. This was great for us, so we didn't mind. Had downloaded some shows through Netflix, so stayed entertained prior to bed.
I do agree, that the entrance has some very tight turns, and at least one really steep tight turn. However, it like us, others found this not too bad after all.

The RV site 7 has the best views on the RV side of the park, but to get lake views you'll need to dry camp. I liked the look of all the sites on the edge of the water, but site 26 probably had the best combination of view and space. However, it is next to a large tree that woodpeckers seemed to really like, so you might get woken up early. We also stayed at RV site 8, which I didn't really like because it's very secluded and has no view due to trees, but for those that want shade / privacy it might be your best option. The rest rooms were very clean, and there is a dump station as you leave the park.

I was in the RV-only, water/electric section. This was a delightful, well-maintained campground, spotlessly clean, very quiet, with well-separated campsites. The ranger drove through numerous times each day. It was about half-full during the week, and full on the weekend. A herd of wild pigs, and a mama deer with two babies, made their way through every morning.

The road in from Hwy-101 was somewhat treacherous, especially with the locals driving fast in the middle of the road around tight bends. There are two routes in: (1) Take Leavesley Rd from Hwy-101, turn left on New Ave then right on Roop Rd, or (2) Take Leavesley Road all the way (it makes a couple of turns at intersections, but keeps the same name), to intersect Roop Rd at the switchback. Route (2) is longer but safer and more gentle.

The dump station is not at the campground. If you need to dump coming in, it is on the left immediately before the ranger's house.

I had very spotty Verizon voice with dropped calls, but no data signal.

I used this as a base to visit Monterey, Mission San Juan Bautista, the Moffett Field and Computer History museums in Mountain View, Lick Observatory, and to drive the coast road from Pacific Grove to Point Sur.