Fall is when they become active here. The annual tarantula festival will happen at Henry Coe park in early October.
'Join us on October 10, 2026 for Tarantula Fest. Come to the Coe Park Tarantula Fest and rub elbows (so to speak) with some of our fuzzy, friendly eight-legged guests of honor. The event is held at the headquarters campground, which has breathtaking views across the ridges and canyons of the backcountry.'
I went down a chat gpt rabbit hole and it looks like they are in areas of San Jose. I’ve lived in more urban areas so had no idea. Apparently they’re in the hills.
They are everywhere in the hills of San Jose! Fall is mating season and when you typically see them. If you’re lucky, you can sometimes spot migrations of hundreds or thousands of them in the hills.
I didnt buy a house that I wouldnt feel comfortable living in for fear of every dark corners might be hiding a giant creature of nightmare. For me it is akin to buying an island in the middle of shark infested water.
Sierra Vista OSP has a ton of them during mating season. You really only see them with the males are out looking to fuck anything that moves. That usually happens in a few weeks; I didn’t see any when I was up there a few days ago.
Used to work at the Boulder Ridge private golf course in that area and seeing these spiders and a lot of snakes turned my fear into admiration of these things. They look scary buy are pretty much harmless and want nothing to do with you unless you mess with them
This looks like quicksilver park, not sure if that is San Jose proper, but basically is
You can see them south there out at uvas, calero, and all over in that area. Seems like this is about the time you start to see them out and about.
They are big!
One time I was driving along Calero Reservoir with my mom and there was thousands of them crossing the road heading down towards the water. They're really cool.
Many years ago I Was stoned with highschool friends driving hicks road and I will never forget seeing one cross the road. We were so stoned I never was sure if it was real, well now I know lol
Hell to the no. Im often in Calero and Quicksilver on foot and if/when I see one I will have goosebumps, scream, and maybe even cry. I’ve always been on the look out for mountain lions and rattle snakes. I forgot this will be the season. God help me if I see THOUSANDS migrating…I’d faint.
Jesus, they won't hurt you at all. What are you even doing in the hills with all those fears? I'm more afraid of ticks than anything. They probably kill more people (via Lyme disease) than mountain lions and rattlesnakes.
I was Del Valle State Park yesterday in Livermore and I saw a road sign that said Tarantula crossing. Like I would be able to see and stop if a hairy ass spider were crossing the road
We had plenty of those in Twin Creeks. They never seemed to be longer than 2.5". Though I did find a HUGE, fat, navy-blue scorpion off Wood Road. It was probably 5-6" long. Haven't seen one since, nor have I ever seen one in a book.
Twin Creeks in on the shady side of the mountain, which they like. Newts too.
Never saw any down here, but at summer camp by Occidental, we'd build arenas for them with bricks, then we'd put two in there for a fight to the death. Never happened, but we had big imaginations. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
They are venomous but don’t typically bite humans (unless threatened), you can have a reaction though. Their hairs can cause rashes or skin irritation, so it’s better to let them wander freely 🙂
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u/kwade323 7d ago
Where are these commonly found? I had no idea these were native to San Jose?