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Sailors on American cargo ships who visited the San Francisco Bay in the mid-1850s apparently had a penchant for naming regions at the edge of the bay after the coyote. They gave the name “Coyote Hills” to an area on the eastern side of the bay (in today’s Fremont). They also renamed a peninsula that juts into the western side of the San Francisco Bay “Big Coyote,” even though the Spaniards had already named it “la punta de San Mateo.” That rocky outcropping is now part of San Mateo, California, and is the site of Coyote Point Park.

History of Big Coyote
Big Coyote was once an island connected to the mainland via a marsh. The land was owned by the Howard family, who built a pier for lumber loading and turned the marsh into a dairy pasture. In 1880, the family built a pool and bathhouse on the beach. Adjacent land, which the family leased, was purposed and repurposed many times over the years.

For example, some land leased by the Howards in 1922 became the site for Pacific City Amusement Park, but a fire destroyed a good portion of it during its second year. Strong afternoon winds and sewage contamination in the Bay were cited as reasons for not rebuilding.

Next, in 1942, the federal government purchased ten acres for the Pacific Coast Cadet Corps. Those buildings were subsequently purchased by the county to be used as the site of College of San Mateo. In 1963, the county moved the college and established the 670-acred Coyote Point park.

Overview of Coyote Point
Thick with eucalyptus trees, the point has tons of trails for walkers and bikers, small nooks for picnicking, and large picnic areas that can be reserved. The area includes a pistol and rifle range, a conference facility, the Coyote Point marina, a playground, the regional humane society, and the CuriOdyssey, a natural science museum. Formerly marshy tidal flats connected to the mainland are now a golf course. Students who work with a San Mateo tutor will have that much more time to enjoy all of Coyote Point Park.

The CuriOdyssey
This hands-on museum (formerly the San Mateo County Junior Museum, then renamed the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education) is comprised of gardens, an aviary, an invertebrate area, and twenty-five habitats housing native animals, some of which, for a multitude of reasons, would not survive in the wild.

In 2006, individual donors and foundations stepped in to save the museum, which was struggling financially. The organization tweaked its mission to focus on educating young children. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the museum allows students on school field trips and other visitors to get a close-up look of river otters, snakes, bobcats, raccoons, a gray fox, golden eagles, turtles, owls, herons, toads, and more. This San Mateo gem is a great place for San Mateo tutors and teachers and their students to study the natural world.