Alum Rock Park, in the Alum Rock district of San Jose, California, is California's oldest municipal park, established in 1872 but serving as public land since the pueblo was established in 1777. Located in a valley in the Diablo Range foothills on the east side of San Jose, the 720 acre (2.9 km2) park offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacks climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and the North Rim Trail. The narrow floor of the valley includes a visitor center, a small museum/animal rehab facility, picnic areas, playgrounds, lawns, sand volleyball pits, mineral springs, lush plant life, woodlands, creek play opportunities, and occasional group camping. The ridge trails offer views of Santa Clara Valley and of the valley in which the park is located. Some trails in the park are a part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail; the Todd Quick trail connects with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority's 1,600-acre Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve. Equestrians and mountain bikers have access to some of the park's trails, while others are reserved for hikers only. Cross-country teams from high schools around North San Jose, such as James Lick High School and Independence High, use the park for training and for meets. History Naming Alum Rock Park was originally known simply as "the reservation"; it received its current name around the turn of the 20th century when thenardite-containing rocks near its entrance were mistaken for alum. Another black rock with an estimated weight of two thousand tons near the mouth of Penitencia Creek canyon was supposed to be one of the largest meteorites in the world. Penitencia Creek is properly called Upper Penitencia Creek because it no longer connects with Lower Penitencia Creek, which is in Milpitas. The creek also had a different name until the early 20th century; somehow it began to be called by the name of a different creek located to the north, which was so-named because monks (possibly from Mission San José) would meditate by its waters. San Jose & Alum Rock Park Railway Construction of a narrow-gauge railway to the park from downtown San Jose began in 1891. By 1896, of track had been completed from 26th Street up Santa Clara and Alum Rock Avenues to Kirk Avenue and thence upstream along Penitencia Creek into the park. Passengers paid 25