You can access the section of the park I was in from Whispering Pines Entrance (take McAbee Rd off of Almaden Expressway and McAbee dead ends into Whispering Pines and the entrance is right there). I ended up doing an 8+ mile hike, when at the last minute I decided to include a trip to Provedencia Pond. It was well worth it not so much for spring color but for the sounds of the ponds creatures against a background of peaceful silence. For those of you not up to an 8 mile hike there are plenty of cut-offs you can take that allow you to customize your hike to a smaller distance (I think the shortest loop would be around to 4.5 to 5 miles or so. You download maps from the County Park website or view the map on my Almaden Quicksilver County Park Page (links to the Counties sit are there) If you are comfortable with single track trails cut into the hillside I highly recommend using the New Almaden Trail rather than the Mine Hill Trail
Of course with the spring wildflowers the butterflies (and other insects ) are out. I saw three different species, though identifying them was a problem as they were all those little ones that just seem to flit about all the time and hardly ever land.
bc