Last Saturday was a particularly mild January day, so I went out to a park that I've long wanted to visit: Ohlone Regional Park. Part of the appeal of this park is that it is so remote. Here is a blurb from the EBRPD website:
You have to hike or ride horseback to see this magnificent 9,737-acre parkland, accessible only by way of the Ohlone Wilderness Trail. Its centerpiece is 3,817-foot Rose Peak, just 32 feet lower than Mount Diablo. Surrounding Rose Peak are grassy ridges, profusely flowered in season. The abundance of wildlife includes golden eagles, mountain lions, and tule elk. Murrietta Falls, the tallest waterfall in the Bay Area can be found at this park, but the hike to get there is a real butt-kicker, and the waterfall is only seasonal--there is no guarantee that you will actually see it once you've gone all the way out there. On my hike on Saturday, I only went about halfway to Murrietta falls, to the scenic Williams Gulch. It was such a pleasure!
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The first two weeks in December were extremely wet, and this welcome return to the rainy season turned all of the golden hills around Livermore green almost immediately. As soon as we had a relatively dry day, our whole family jumped at the chance to soak in some sunshine and greenery at Sycamore Grove Park.
This was a return trip for me and my daughter to Caswell Memorial State Park. Last time, my daughter was not in the mood for hiking, so we mostly hung around the lovely picnic area. This time, I brought my toddler backpack carrier, so we were able to complete a longer loop, going along the aptly named Majestic Oaks Trail!
Not this weekend, but last, I went on a really interesting 6.5-mile loop (with 1,200 ft of elevation gain!) through Las Trampas Regional Park in San Ramon. This hike offered stunning views of the entire Bay Area, wind caves, and a "box canyon" called Devil's Hole. I was surprised to see that golden poppies and sky lupine were still blooming late into October. I am glad to have done it while the skies were still clear. We are experiencing a historic wind event that is spreading wildfire in Santa Rosa and bringing smoke down to the Bay Area.
Last winter, I made a couple of lovely trips to Shadow Cliffs Regional Park to walk through the quiet arroyo area of the park. This morning, my daughter and I went swimming in the beach area and walked along the marina.
I've been taking care of my daughter during the weekdays while I am on a reduced work schedule for the summer (I am a teacher), so most of my hikes and outings lately have been geared more towards her. However, today (a Sunday), I got to have a solo hike for the first time in a long time. I decided to check out a trail that I have been thinking about at one of my all-time favorite open space parks: Del Valle Regional Park. It was a surprisingly cool day for summer in Livermore, and it was really lovely to hike in the morning.
My daughter and I recently went on a hike with a friend who was carrying her own baby in a toddler carrier hiking back pack. We actually have one that we got when my daughter was still little enough that we mostly used her Ergo carrier; when we first tried it out, she was still too little I think, and she did not like it at all. On our recent trip, she was fascinated with the back pack, so I decided to bust it out to try it again. Success! She loved it, so I decided to try a short and sweet hike at one of our favorite parks, Sunol Regional Wilderness. It was so nice not to have to restrict a hike to a paved trail.
A month ago, I visited this area of Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore. In my post on that visit, I opined that this area would be a great place to bring a little one. In this trip, I did just that: I brought my toddler to explore this shady, creek-side portion of this lovely park.
Despite flawless weather, I did not have the best day today at Garin Park, one of the two parks in the complex of Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Parks. I made the most of it, but I was really off my game.
This was a milestone hike for me: my 149th and 150th parks visited! I opted to do this hike, recommended by the EBRPD for their 2019 Trails Challenge, a moderate 5-mile hike that links the two parks together via the Chabot-to-Garin Trail. It was a really different hike than what I normally do because it wanders in and out of a lot of suburban space in Castro Valley. I don't know that I would do this specific trail again, but I definitely plan to visit both of these parks separately in the future. They are very different from each other, but both Don Castro and Five Canyons are really wonderful parks. Click "read more" to see more photos from my adventure.
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