Welcome to Uvas Reservoir County Park. This beautiful and scenic 1,017 acre park and reservoir is nestled below the Santa Cruz Mountains, just minutes from Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
The Uvas Reservoir area was frequented by the Mutsun Ohlone Indians for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. Today's reservoir was once part of the 11,093 acre Rancho Las Uvas (meaning "Ranch of the grapes"), granted by Mexican Governor Alvarado to Lorenzo Pineda in 1842. The land later became patented under the American courts to Martin Murphy, an early pioneer of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. The lush valley was used for agriculture including plums. At the turn of the century a woman named Minnie Kell, or "Ma Kell", ran a campground in the Uvas Creek Valley, featuring a swimming hole, baseball diamond and dance floor. The construction of Uvas Dam and Reservoir in 1957 was part of a countywide effort by water officials to ensure adequate water supplies for the valley's growing population. Water from the reservoir is used to recharge supplies in underground aquifers, which will later be pumped from wells for residential, agricultural, and industrial uses. In 1960, the County Parks and Recreation Department began recreational operation of the reservoir.
