Marilyn Murphy Kane Trail

The Marilyn Murphy Kane Trail in Pleasanton is a 1.7 mile paved trail that parallels the Arroyo de la Laguna. It is a flat hike through mostly open grassland that borders the riparian corridor along the arroyo. It's a nice place for an easy hike, and a great place for families with young kids.

The brochure for the trail had the following bit of history about the site:

At one time the entire Livermore-Amador Valley was a large, sediment filled valley gently sloping to a marsh ringed lagoon, Tulare Lake. This site was marshland below the lagoon, with willows and tules. The lagoon and marsh drained into the Arroyo de la Laguna which flowed into Alameda Creek and then to San Francisco Bay, as it does today. For over 5,000 years the Ohlone people lived here.

These hunter gatherers lived on the abundant water fowl, fish, fresh water clams, deer, seeds, acorns and tules.

In 1772 the first Europeans, a Spanish expedition, entered the valley known until then only to the Ohlone. Mission San Jose was established in l797, and this site became part of the lands grazed by thousands of mission-owned cattle. In 1835 the mission was secularized, and this site became part of the Rancho del Valle de San Jose.

In the late 1800’s, the desire to increase the amount of land available for farming resulted in canals being constructed to drain the land. Wells were drilled to serve local residential and agriculture use and large tracts of land, including this site, were purchased for well fields to serve the growing urban area. If you look closely you can find remnants of previous water systems. When the canals were completed and the surrounding land was made acceptable for agriculture, it was farmed with a variety of crops. Most recently, the land has been used to grow red oat hay.

While the Marilyn Kane Trail is in open grassland, it parallels the riparian woodland of the Arroyo de la Laguna, and the newly developed riparian corridor of the Bernal Canal. The term “riparian” refers to vegetation or habitat along rivers, streams and waterways. The Arroyo de la Laguna offers outstanding views of native trees including sycamore, California Bay, buckeye, elderberry, valley oak, coast live oak, black walnut, willow and cottonwood. The shrub and plant understory contains baccharis, toyon, cow parsnip, hemlock, poison oak and thistle. The open grassland features valley oaks and live oaks. Live oak plantings are located along the trail to provide future users with a shaded pathway. The site was farmed for many years so native grasses and wildflowers have not been established in the open grassland. Some of the open grassland is now left fallow to one day allow for the emergence of a natural plant community.

It was cool for me to learn that this area used to be marshy, because I never would have guessed it even though I am a big fan of marshes. In late May, it was really nice to see all of the blossoms of California buckeye (Aesculus californica, link). We also saw another western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus, link).

I brought my daughter on this trail in the stroller and I hooked her balance bike on the handle of the stroller for her to use when she was ready. It ended up being perfect for us, at least right now. We walked in the stroller from the staging area to the memorial for Marilyn Murphy Kane (0.8 miles), and then she rode her bike almost all the way back to the car. She got lots of good exercise and wore herself out for a good nap.

There were lots of folks using the trail with young families. From just witnessing those people today, I can easily see coming back here with her when she graduates to a big girl bike. I thought that the trail would be closer to the arroyo and more shaded--it actually is pretty exposed throughout. So I think that this is a great place to bring your children, but not if it is a hot day.

Also, the paved trail is wide enough to allow for plenty of social distancing, so it's good for families even in the time of COVID-19. This trail reminded me a lot of the Arroyo Mocho Trail in Livermore, which is one of our favorites. They are currently using the goats for weed abatement in the Arroyo Mocho, which is sure to attract families--maybe even a lot of families. This trail is a good alternative as long as it's not too hot out.