Urban Trails East Bay. Alexandra Kenin
for the unexpected by carrying a small first-aid kit with items such as band-aids, gauze, antiseptic cream, and an elastic bandage for ankle sprains. If you have allergies that require medication, particularly to bees, bring your EpiPen or other personal medication. And make sure your hiking buddies know about your allergies and medications. A little prep can go a long way.
A NOTE ABOUT SAFETY
Safety is an important concern in all outdoor activities. No guidebook can alert you to every hazard or anticipate the limitations of every reader, so you’ll have to be the judge of whether a particular route is suitable for your party. When you follow any of the routes described in this book, you assume responsibility for your own safety. Under normal conditions, such excursions require the usual attention to traffic, road and trail conditions, weather, terrain, and the capabilities of your party, among other factors. Before hitting the trails, always check for current park conditions, and when hiking, obey private property signs, and avoid confrontations with property owners or managers. Keeping informed on current conditions and exercising common sense are the keys to a safe, enjoyable outing.
—Mountaineers Books
Fire: It is extremely unlikely that you’ll unintentionally spend the night out on the trails described in this guide, but in case this happens, you may want to carry matches in a waterproof bag or a lighter to start a fire in an emergency.
Repair kit and tools: Tools—like a knife and a multitool—can help you do anything from open a food bag to remove a splinter to cut cloth into bandages.
Nutrition: Food is fuel. Make sure you have enough for your hike. If you bring extra, you can extend your hike or feed unprepared friends.
Hydration: We need water to live—and to hike! Staying hydrated is essential for safety. Access to potable water on trails can be spotty, so make sure you bring all you need and more on your hike. If you’re using water from natural sources, such as creeks, you’ll also want a way to purify your water, either with a filter or through a chemical or other sterilization method.
Emergency shelter: In an emergency, a rain poncho or garbage bag can serve as a temporary shelter. If you want to bring along an ultralight tent, some of them can weigh as little as two pounds.
TRAIL CONCERNS
Trails and parks are generally safe places for recreation, but it’s always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings—especially if you’re on the trail by yourself. It’s also a good idea to share your hiking plans with a reliable friend or family member, including when you’re heading out and what route you’ll be taking.
Car break-ins are unfortunate but do happen from time to time at trail parking lots. When you bring a car to a park, never leave anything of value, like a wallet or cell phone, in the car. It’s also a good idea to move any bags from the car seats to the trunk. Thieves don’t know that a bag is empty. Don’t tempt their curiosity.
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline (Hike 4) offers views of both San Francisco and San Pablo Bays.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
This guide is designed to help you discover some of my personal favorite trails in the East Bay. While the guide aims to be a solid introduction to the region, it is by no means exhaustive. There are just too many places to include in one book! Start with these forty hikes, and then you can make the next round of discoveries on your own.
I have personally hiked every trail in this book and have had hike testers follow in my footsteps to make sure the directions are accurate and up-to-date as of the time of writing. Trails open and close and routes can and do change, however, so make sure you research each park’s current conditions before you go.
THE DESTINATIONS
This book’s hikes extend as far north as Richmond, as far south as Fremont, as far east as Mount Diablo, and cover many places in between. Each route starts with the park or trail name, followed by a block of information detailing the following:
The short, sweet hike at Lake Temescal is a perfect weekend activity (Hike 18).
Distance. This is the length of the hike in miles. Unless otherwise noted, all distances listed are roundtrip. I used a GPS watch to measure all distances for these hikes.
Elevation Gain. Most routes include both ascents and descents, but this statistic gives you an overall picture of how much you’ll be climbing. I also used a GPS watch to measure the elevation gain for these hikes.
High Point. This is the highest elevation on a given hike.
Difficulty. Hikes in this book are rated easy, moderate, challenging, or very difficult. The ratings are based on trail surfaces and conditions, distance, and total elevation gain.
Fitness. Each description mentions whether walkers, hikers, or runners might like the route. I’ve based my rationale on the assumption that walkers would probably like all the shorter routes, plus some of the longer, easy-rated ones on well-maintained trails. I assumed runners wouldn’t like very steep trails and that hikers would like all of the trails!
Family-Friendly. Optional stops such as points of interest and scenic overlooks are noted along the way, and I suggest early turnaround points or alternate start or end points for families with small children. While I offer ideas and suggestions for some hikes, parents are the best judges of whether their child is capable of completing a given route.
Dog-Friendly. In general, the East Bay is a wonderful place to hike with dogs. Most East Bay Regional Park District parks allow dogs, and many allow them off leash. Even so, dogs must always remain on leash for the first and last 200 feet of a hike; owners who don’t comply may receive a ticket. The information you see listed with each hike is based on the regulations for each trail and natural area. If dogs are allowed, I have listed whether they need to be on leash. If an area allows dogs off leash, keep your dog under voice control, and no matter what, always clean up after your pup.
Amenities. These features include restrooms, benches, picnic areas, and playgrounds.
Contact. The organization (or organizations) that manages the land the trail passes through is listed here. See Appendix II for contact information.
GPS. GPS coordinates (in degrees, minutes, and seconds) are provided for each hike’s trailhead. The coordinates are based on WGS84 datum.
Map To. Since many people use a map app on their phone for driving directions, I list the address to enter in your preferred app to get there. I have verified that all of these addresses work for Google Maps; however, they may not work with all map apps. When in doubt, you can also try mapping to the nearest road intersection shown on the hike map.
The Berkeley Marina offers bay and San Francisco skyline views (Hike 10).
Maps. A detailed map is provided for each route, including the trailhead, points of interest, transit stops, viewpoints, select amenities, and more.
Getting