 Los Vaqueros (Spanish for the cowboys) is a reservoir for the Contra Costa Water District. It is open for recreation, although during the time of COVID, the types of recreation are limited mostly to hiking and fishing. Los Vaqueros charges a $6 day use fee, and it is accessible on the north end from the Antioch Area and on south end from Livermore. Los Vaqueros has 60 miles of hiking, and it connects to both Round Valley (to the North) and Morgan Territory (to the South).
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 This 4-mile hike was a repeat of a hike that I did last year in late May at nearby Pleasanton Ridge. It was so cool to come back to this park in autumn when the colors were so different--like two different worlds.
 Last Sunday, I made my maiden voyage to Pachecho State Park, where I took a challenging but enjoyable 5.5-mile loop. I can definitely see myself returning to this park, especially in the spring when the wildflowers must be spectacular.
 On Saturday I took my young daughter on a very short hike from the Macdonald Gate, but I was itching for more. So on Sunday I returned to that staging area in Anthony Chabot for a much more ambitious solo hike. This ~9-mile lollipop hike went along the ridge top and then descended into Grass Valley for a nice loop. I really liked the variety on this hike!
 Today I took a rejuvenating morning hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. I took a loop that was new to me, the 5.7-mile loop (with about 600' elevation gain) of East Ridge and Stream Trails. This loop combined a chaparral landscape along the ridge top with a riparian redwood forest in the valley below. And I was treated to a display of ladybugs!
 Today I took the 2.8 mile Stream View-Grey Fox loop through Bishop Ranch Regional Park. This short loop packs a lot of punch: it moves through riparian woodland, grassy oak-covered hills, and exposed ridge tops with excellent views of the mountains of the Tri-Valley.
 I took a super enjoyable 7.9-mile loop through Windy Hill Preserve today. It was a glorious hike through a beautiful variety of forests and landscapes. It's made me wish I had explored deeper into this park before I moved away from the peninsula!
 Today, I took a lovely solo hike to Tilden Park, and I finally made the loop to Wildcat Peak that I have been wanting to do for about two years now. Click read more to see maps and trail descriptions for this beautifully varied 4.75-mile loop.
 I only had a short amount of time for a solo hike today, and Sunol was already at maximum capacity when I arrived at 9:45 this morning, so I decided on a whim to try hiking at Vargas Plateau. This was my first time to hike this park in the dry season, and it was so different from what I have come to expect from only ever hiking here in late winter and early spring. I learned a lot, and I have a new loop planned for the next time I come back here.
 On Sunday, I took a 6.5-mile solo hike deep into Morgan Territory, a park local to me in Livermore. This hike combined legs of several other hikes that I have done in the park before and it comprised a really good "greatest hits" of the park, or at least the part of the park that is most easily accessible from the main staging area.
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