Father Pedro Font of the Anza expedition named it the Arroyo del Coyote on March 31, 1776. It rises on Mount Sizer near Henry W. Coe State Park, passes through Anderson Lake and Coyote Valley, and runs about 63.6 miles to the Bay. Its watershed drains some 320 square miles, which is why it is called a river in all but name. It forms the eastern edge of downtown San Jose.
A chain of parks follows the creek, linked by the Coyote Creek Trail, and it winds through Kelley Park. The creek has flooded several times, including in 1983, when water reached Alviso, and in 2017, when it swamped the Japanese Friendship Garden.