Geographical Mistakes

Henry W. Coe State Park

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Geographical Mistakes

There are a number of geographical features at Henry W. Coe State Park which have names frequently misspelled, misspoken, or otherwise confused. Learn these common errors and be on your way to becoming a Coe "insider"!

Bass Pond: Sometimes called Bass Lake, which would be a real stretch. It is no more than a pond, and in some drought years seems to be merely an extra large puddle.

China Hole: Sometimes referred to as "China Lake" which is indeed a real place—in the Mojave Desert of southern California. China Hole is a deep spot in Coyote Creek, and not a lake by any measure.

"Fish Creek": The Fish Trail crosses the Little Fork of Coyote Creek, which has sometimes led to the error of calling it Fish Creek.

Frog Lake: Although this is a small pond and not a lake, its official name is not Frog Pond, as many want to call it.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: This redwood park of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton and Santa Cruz is often confused with Henry W. Coe State Park—much to the chagrin of people who show up at Henry Coe thinking they are meeting friends at Henry Cowell!

Henry Willard Coe State Park: It is true that the "W." in Henry W. Coe stands for Willard, but the official name of the park is Henry W. Coe State Park, and the "Willard" is never used. It hasn't had a Willard in it for at least 25 years, and the USGS use of this on their maps is in error. I'm not sure it ever had the Willard as a state park. When the park was first created as a county park, it was called Henry Willard Coe Memorial Park, and that is perhaps the source of the mistake.

Los Cruzeros: Frequently called or mispronounced "Las Cruces" or "Los Cruces". Note that the "Cruzeros" has three syllables and that the "z" in Spanish is pronounced like the English "s" as in sweet (or like "th" if you give it a Castilian lisp). Say Crew-SAY-rohs.

Poverty Flat: The "Flat" is frequently pluralized into "Flats" in error.

Sada's Spring: This spring on the lower slopes of Blue Ridge was named after Sada Coe (pronounced SAY-duh), but is sometimes mistakenly called "Soda" Spring—probably because the printing on some of the park maps is hard to read.

Skeels' Meadow: This is a toughy. Most everyone writing this wants to make it "Skeel's." But the meadow was named after the Skeels Family, not the Skeel Family. It is the Meadow of Skeels, not the Meadow of Skeel. A pioneer member of this family was named Lloyd Skeels (not Lloyd Skeel). Get it? If not, get out your grammar or dictionary and refer to the sections on the use of the apostrophe.

Willson Ranch, Willson Field Hill, Willson Peak: Since most of us have only seen the name Wilson with one "l", the spelling with the double "l" as is correct for these features in the southern end of the park is easily overlooked. In fact, the first time a park map was printed with the name of Willson Field Hill on it, it was printed with one "l" by mistake.

Other common confusions:

"The Coe Backcountry Weekend is when all the roads in the park are open for driving.": Nope! On one weekend in April, those whose applications are selected by random drawing are able to drive into the park via the Bell Station entrance as far north as the Orestimba Corral. They are not allowed to drive on any other road other than Kaiser-Aetna, and the narrowness and dustiness of parts of the road does not allow for unrestricted to and fro driving. However, they are able to more easily hike, bike, or horseback ride to Mississippi Lake (along with a couple hundred other people!) and the most northerly valleys of the Orestimba Wilderness will be only a day's moderate hike away. But no, there are no days when the park opens all of its roads to the public.

"Madrone Soda Springs is a hot springs.": This area was once a developed resort, with a hotel, dance pavilion, barn, and guest cabins. The attraction was not hot springs—which the area doesn't have—but soda or mineral springs (it was also called Madrone Mineral Springs). This water was imbibed for its alleged curative properties. The USGS map shows a spring emanating out of the creek, but to the best of my knowledge, it is no longer flowing. The closest hot spring in the region is Gilroy Hot Springs, which is in a newly acquired portion of the park on the west slopes of Coyote Creek opposite the Coyote Creek gate (and not yet open to the public).

Lee Dittmann


	Henry W. Coe State Park presented by Mindbird Maps & Books \| home Photo Tour · Location Map · Recreation · Trip Reports · Publications · Free Maps · Plants · Wildlife · Staff · Coe Reflections · Coe Songs · Geographical Mistakes · Links · Donations Geographical Mistakes There are a number of geographical features at Henry W. Coe State Park which have names frequently misspelled, misspoken, or otherwise confused. Learn these common errors and be on your way to becoming a Coe "insider"! Bass Pond: Sometimes called Bass Lake, which would be a real stretch. It is no more than a pond, and in some drought years seems to be merely an extra large puddle. China Hole: Sometimes referred to as "China Lake" which is indeed a real place—in the Mojave Desert of southern California. China Hole is a deep spot in Coyote Creek, and not a lake by any measure. "Fish Creek": The Fish Trail crosses the Little Fork of Coyote Creek, which has sometimes led to the error of calling it Fish Creek. Frog Lake: Although this is a small pond and not a lake, its official name is not Frog Pond, as many want to call it. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: This redwood park of the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton and Santa Cruz is often confused with Henry W. Coe State Park—much to the chagrin of people who show up at Henry Coe thinking they are meeting friends at Henry Cowell! Henry Willard Coe State Park: It is true that the "W." in Henry W. Coe stands for Willard, but the official name of the park is Henry W. Coe State Park, and the "Willard" is never used. It hasn't had a Willard in it for at least 25 years, and the USGS use of this on their maps is in error. I'm not sure it ever had the Willard as a state park. When the park was first created as a county park, it was called Henry Willard Coe Memorial Park, and that is perhaps the source of the mistake. Los Cruzeros: Frequently called or mispronounced "Las Cruces" or "Los Cruces". Note that the "Cruzeros" has three syllables and that the "z" in Spanish is pronounced like the English "s" as in sweet (or like "th" if you give it a Castilian lisp). Say Crew-SAY-rohs. Poverty Flat: The "Flat" is frequently pluralized into "Flats" in error. Sada's Spring: This spring on the lower slopes of Blue Ridge was named after Sada Coe (pronounced SAY-duh), but is sometimes mistakenly called "Soda" Spring—probably because the printing on some of the park maps is hard to read. Skeels' Meadow: This is a toughy. Most everyone writing this wants to make it "Skeel's." But the meadow was named after the Skeels Family, not the Skeel Family. It is the Meadow of Skeels, not the Meadow of Skeel. A pioneer member of this family was named Lloyd Skeels (not Lloyd Skeel). Get it? If not, get out your grammar or dictionary and refer to the sections on the use of the apostrophe. Willson Ranch, Willson Field Hill, Willson Peak: Since most of us have only seen the name Wilson with one "l", the spelling with the double "l" as is correct for these features in the southern end of the park is easily overlooked. In fact, the first time a park map was printed with the name of Willson Field Hill on it, it was printed with one "l" by mistake. Other common confusions: "The Coe Backcountry Weekend is when all the roads in the park are open for driving.": Nope! On one weekend in April, those whose applications are selected by random drawing are able to drive into the park via the Bell Station entrance as far north as the Orestimba Corral. They are not allowed to drive on any other road other than Kaiser-Aetna, and the narrowness and dustiness of parts of the road does not allow for unrestricted to and fro driving. However, they are able to more easily hike, bike, or horseback ride to Mississippi Lake (along with a couple hundred other people!) and the most northerly valleys of the Orestimba Wilderness will be only a day's moderate hike away. But no, there are no days when the park opens all of its roads to the public. "Madrone Soda Springs is a hot springs.": This area was once a developed resort, with a hotel, dance pavilion, barn, and guest cabins. The attraction was not hot springs—which the area doesn't have—but soda or mineral springs (it was also called Madrone Mineral Springs). This water was imbibed for its alleged curative properties. The USGS map shows a spring emanating out of the creek, but to the best of my knowledge, it is no longer flowing. The closest hot spring in the region is Gilroy Hot Springs, which is in a newly acquired portion of the park on the west slopes of Coyote Creek opposite the Coyote Creek gate (and not yet open to the public). Lee Dittmann