East Bay Regional Parks

You know I like collections. Usually I acquire them on purpose. But here’s one I worked on completely by accident! Introducing our East Bay Regional Parks collection!

Long before we had a home base in the Redwoods, we had one in the Bay Area. When we visited Kent’s parents, the East Bay Regional Parks network was the perfect place to train and get back to nature.

A photograph of the author, running towards a camera on a sandy fire road in Dublin Hills. It is sunrise, and this East Bay Regional Park is lit with a warm shade of rose from the upper left.

Over the years, we visited quite a few of the parks. But there are 61 East Bay Regional Parks, so our collection is by no means complete!

But we’ve explored enough to know that the East Bay is a great place to stay and play. Without further ado, here are some of our favorites!

Pleasanton Ridge

The original. Kent spent much of his youth and young adulthood enjoying the Pleasanton Ridge. It was also the first of the East Bay Regional Parks that I visited. Kent took me there in 2012 – the year we eloped!

During our extended stays in California in both 2014 and 2015, we played at the Pleasanton Ridge a LOT! Hikes with family, picnics with friends and weekday runs allowed us to explore every nook and cranny of this park.

A little lizard hugs the author's dusty achilles tendon, just above her short sock! — Not the only ones exploring!

My favorite of our outings was one late September day in 2015 when we decided to hike EVERY trail on the ridge on a full-day outing. We took a backpack full of snacks, and called it the Grand Tour of the Pleasanton Ridge.

A photograph of the author in mid-air. She's jumping above the Pleasanton Ridge Trail! The road is a dry, dusty beige, but forests fill the valleys below this drought-stricken hilltop.

There are many things to like about Pleasanton Ridge. It has a large network of trails, so you can customize the length of your adventure. Getting onto the ridge itself involves a bit of a climb, but once on top, the trails are gently rolling. Little ponds dot the landscape, where you can sometimes find salamanders. We’ve also seen numerous birds of prey, the occasional cow and, on one very memorable occasion, a bobcat!

A pair of salamanders mating in a shallow pool. The photographer apologizes for invading their privacy. — Pleasanton Ridge is for lovers

But perhaps the best part of this East Bay Regional Park is the splendid view. You can gaze out over the Pleasanton and Livermore area and spy other distant ridges. Turn around to face a scene of serene semi-wilderness cut only by fire access roads and cow trails. In the summer, the hills are golden. Come in winter for a vision of green.

In this image, the author is captured walking away from the camera on a dirt road. There's a sloping hill to the right, and some oak trees to the left. This image somehow captures the essence of Pleasanton Ridge and its golden hills.

Trail access is from the city of Pleasanton. Climb up from any of the three access points along Foothill Road or from the Augustine Bernal city park, which divides Pleasanton Ridge into two sections. Choose your adventure here!

Brushy Peak

Another close-to-home delight! Just east of the Pleasanton Ridge, Brushy Peak offers similar scenery in a quieter locale. Although the area was once a meeting place for native Californians, these days it receives less pedestrian traffic than the ridge.

We went for a run in this East Bay Regional Park in August of 2015. I chased Kent through the long golden grasses as the sun rose warmly above us. There was no one else in sight: a rare morning of solitude in the Bay!

A selfie featuring the author and her husband. The pair are shirtless on a hot summer morning, running in a field of golden grass. Kent's shadow is visible on the grass behind the pair. — Gilded

What I loved here was getting a bit further off the beaten path (always a great idea to go east in California!), the spaciousness and the feeling of freedom that always accompanies running in silence, in nature.

Wanna go? Check out Brushy Peak here. Trailhead access is at Laughlin Ranch Staging Area, which is just off highway 580. There are a couple of loops you can do – and it’s definitely worth going up to (near) the peak!

Dublin Hills

Another early morning – another nearby delight! Actually, this run in Dublin Hills produced some of our best running pictures – ever, not just of the East Bay Regional Parks! Judge for yourself – but I’m sure you’ll agree that a summer sunrise here is truly special!

Also special: the wildlife! To our delight, we came across a family of wild pigs on this 2015 run. There’s also a variety of birdlife, and I’m pretty sure we spotted a Cooper’s Hawk as well!

A family of five wild pigs ascends a hillside, partially hidden in tall, dry grass. Spotted in Dublin Hills! — Family of friends!

A splendid sunrise scene, captured from Dublin Hills. Large grey boulders line the bottom of the frame, and undulating grassy hillsides roll down toward the city below. But the eye is drawn up to the clouds, where the sunrise is reflected in palest pink and yellow on deep purple. — Dublin Hills: Day

In this image, taken in the same place as the first, we see the same scene - but at night! Here, the eye is drawn to the lights of traffic on a curving highway. The lights of the town below are reflected somewhat on the clouds above. — Dublin Hills: Night

We loved our experience in this park so much, we specifically picked it for a family moon-viewing outing later on. Turns out, the open spaces of Dublin Hills are magical for sunrises – and eclipses!

The Stander family waits for sunset. Three individuals are silhouetted against the setting sun. A man sits, a woman stands and another man crouches low to the ground. The background is a warm yellow glow. — Waiting for sunset

A beautiful image featuring a lunar eclipse! The bottom left curve of the orb is illuminated, while the rest of the moon's surface appears a deep crimson. The moon is centered in the frame against a pitch black sky. — Lunar eclipse – September 2015

Northwest of Dublin, this park’s main entrance is at Donlon Point Staging Area. Drive access is via Dublin Boulevard, parallel to the 580. Check out trails and more here!

Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

Want to play with gorgeous coast redwoods? You could plan a road trip to run the incredible Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park or explore stunning secret spots in Redwood National Park. But you could also just head east from Oakland and enjoy these splendid trees close by.

This is a pretty park for a run or a relaxing hike. It’s the sole forest that we explored in the East Bay Regional Parks network. So if you’re looking for a bit of a change of pace from grasslands, this is it! Fun in the forest awaits.

On a hot day, this park stays cool and shady. Year round, it’s a great place for forest bathing. Another great feature of this park is its multitude of trails! Redwood abuts both Roberts and Anthony Chabot – and there’s a trail leading to Las Trampas as well! Or simply climb up to the ridge to enjoy the canopy!

Kent and Carrie stand bathed in warm early morning light on the ridge above the redwood forest. Here on the ridge trail, one gets a perspective on the forest!

Check out this guide for more information on the multiple access points and options for Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park fun.

Las Trampas Wilderness Regional Preserve

We visited the aforementioned Las Trampas with a group of friends in early February 2014. The golden light of late afternoon painted the hills their characteristic color. It was classic Californian scenery at its best.

Kent turns around to smile back at the camera, while his friends go on ahead. The trio are on a wide, dusty trail in cool brown shadow.

But it wasn’t all rolling hills and pastureland! Las Trampas features some interesting geology in the form of four unique rock formations. We stopped for a picnic at one of these.

One of several jagged rock features makes this image - and Las Trampas - unique amongst the East Bay Regional Parks. The sky is beautiful with pastel hues and swirled clouds. The hillsides below are cast in dark shadow.

In this rare non-selfie photograph of Kent and Carrie, Carrie looks up at Kent while he smiles into the camera. The pair are wearing sweaters and standing beside a large, scarred boulder in Las Trampas.

Learn more about Las Trampas here – and consider hiking from here to Mt. Diablo on this connector trail!

Morgan Territory

On a different winter afternoon in 2014, we hit the trail again with Kent’s friend Tyler in a new East Bay Regional Park! This hike stands out for it’s beautiful, deep red manzanita trees – and the fun we had playing with them!

A close-up study of the unique coloration of a manzanita tree. The outer wood is a deep shade of burgundy, while a crack reveals light brown wood inside. Lichen is growing on this tree trunk in various places.

A collage featuring three photos - and three unique ways to play with a manzanita tree! In the first image, Kent's friend Tyler hangs upside down from a red branch. In this second image, Carrie peeks out from behind a tree. In the final image, Kent is in a low squat with his hands in prayer position: a yoga pose, plus manzanita!

You too can have a blast in Morgan Territory – start you planning for it right here!

Iron Horse Trail

Although this doesn’t constitute a park, exactly, the Iron Horse Trail is managed by the East Bay Regional Park system, so it’s definitely worth mentioning! Although I can’t wax poetic about its nature, this paved, multi-use path that connects Pleasanton to Concord is a fun way to commute – great for both ‘road’ runs and bike rides!

Training for a marathon? This is the place to get away from Bay Area traffic and just run. In fact, Kent trained right here for his first marathon in 2010! We did some of our running here in 2012, 2014 and again in 2015.

Want another idea? Ride this route on a bicycle. One of my favorite Iron Horse Trail memories is the time we rode our bikes to Whole Foods to buy pizza dough, then went home to cook up the best pizzas ever and watch a documentary about whales!

A food photograph. A small, circular pizza is cut in half and placed on two white plates, one of which also contains a fork. This yummy pizza is topped with slices of heirloom tomatoes, basil and nutritional yeast. — Did NOT take a biking photo. DID take a picture of our feast.

Interested in the Iron? Check out your options here. This 32 mile trail has multiple community access points!

Mission Peak

To finish, another favorite! On our Mission Peak outing in 2015, we liked the peak so much, we climbed it twice!

This turned out to be our last East Bay Regional Park mission (Kent’s parents would move out of the Bay Area before our next visit) – at least for now. So it’s fitting that this was a great and memorable one!

A Mission Peak selfie! Kent stands closest to the camera, smiling into the lens. Carrie is further back on the trail, matching in a purple tank and headband that are bright against the pale yellow grasses of the hillside here.

It was a cool, cloudy morning when we pulled up at the Mission Peak trailhead. Not the usual Bay Area weather in early fall – but perfect for a running challenge!

We dashed uphill until the grade slowed us into a hike. Peeking over my shoulder, I admired terrific views of the bay itself. Hard to keep up a quick pace with photogenic vistas like these!

Trails and trees appear here ant there on folded hillsides. This is the view facing west towards the bay from Mission Peak!

We lingered to celebrate our only marked summit in the East Bay Regional Parks, hanging off of the charismatic summit post and gazing across to San Francisco.

Carrie and Kent stand to either side of the summit post on Mission peak. The scenery of the East Bay spreads out below them, below a moody sky of low grey clouds.

But reaching the summit is not the only way to enjoy this park, we discovered! There’s a surprising number of trails leading far and away from Mission Peak itself. We decided to run down behind the peak, to the east. And I’m so glad we did – we had terrific animal sightings in this wilder, lesser-utilized area of the park.

A large black beetle with drops of rain on its back and ribbed antennae.

But Kent and I, we’re also peak people. So heading back towards the adventure mobile, we figured we’d better revisit the summit! This often produces the very best experiences (like this one!). And indeed: Mission Peak round two was just as nice as the first.

A selfie at the summit, taken during the pair's second visit of the day! Kent is the photographer, while Carrie hangs off the summit post in the background. She's holding on with one hand, while the other hand holds two fingers - to indicate two summits!

Challenge yourself to a Mission Peak climb (or multiple!) – or head off into the nearby wilderness. Research your options here – and reach the park from Ohlone College or the Stanford Avenue Staging Area.

Thanks for joining me on this sampling of East Bay Regional Park adventures. Have you been to any of these or other East Bay Regional Parks? Now’s the time to go!