Bollinger Creek Loop Trail, Las Trampas

Las Trampas Regional Wilderness in San Ramon is a sprawling wilderness area. Today, I only dipped my toe into the park in this very easy introductory hike of only 1.5 miles and minimal elevation gain. I was by myself today, but this would be a great hike to do with my little one in the toddler backpack carrier.

The EBRPD's website has the following blurb about Las Trampas:

Las Trampas Wilderness Regional Preserve offers 5,342 acres of wilderness and an expanded trail system that allows hikers and horseback riders to enjoy its remote and rugged areas. The park's size and terrain allow visitors a feeling of privacy and escape from urban hustle and bustle.

The route in red is the path that I took today in a clockwise direction from the staging area. I really recommend the direction that I took. Although the trail is relatively flat, the uphill portion--such as it was--was in the deep shade of the bay trees that grow along Bollinger Creek. The downhill portion was in exposed sun. It is just more pleasant to do an uphill portion of a hike in the shade.

The path along the shady creek was particularly beautiful, but I rather suspect that it gets SUPER muddy in the wet months. The path seemed to be hardened and dried mud. It was uneven in placed, as if it had retained its texture from cows getting their hooves partially stuck and then pulling them out of the mud. It was no problem today, but I imagine that when it's been raining that this path gets almost impassable from mud.

Today was a great day to visit--it felt like a nice, crisp fall day. The only drawback was that Bollinger Creek was almost completely dry. I think that the ideal time to visit Las Trampas must be in late spring or early summer, when the hills are green and the flowers are blooming, but the rains have stopped and the ground has started to dry. I definitely plan on coming back here to explore deeper into the park. As you can see here (full map of the park), I really only scratched the surface today. Next time, I am particularly interested in doing the Rocky Ridge View-Sycamore-Devil's Hole-Cuesta Loop (about 6.4 miles, ~700 ft elevation gain).