Wildcat Gorge Loop at Tilden Park

This lovely 5-mile loop links two areas of Tilden Park that I had previously only visited separately: the area around Lake Anza and the Nature Area. It was fun to take the Wildcat Gorge as a connector between these areas of Tilden. 

Starting from the Live Oak Picnic Area (note that the picnic tables are closed now because of the COVID-19 pandemic), I went past the restrooms and then got onto the trail, veering to the right at the fork to get onto the Wildcat Gorge Trail. The trail is very easy to spot, but it is not well signed at this one junction. The trail goes through a gorge that's been carved by the creek that runs off of Lake Anza. It's controlled by a dam now, so you can predictably expect to find some water.

Along this relatively flat trail you will find redwoods and bay laurel trees and some interesting outcroppings of rocks. I took this all the way to the dam at Lake Anza (there is a short but steep ascent to get up to the top of the dam), and then I went right to circumnavigate the lake in a counterclockwise direction. The Lake Anza Trail loops around the right side of the Swim Area. [Note: the Swim Area is closed right now out of precaution for the virus.] This trail is very rough, and it is not appropriate to try this with young kids, a stroller, or anyone with balance issues. The trail goes right along the water, and it is eroded at places so that you have to scramble along the steep bank to avoid stepping into the waters of Lake Anza. 

At the footbridge, the Lake Anza Trail tees as it rejoins the Wildcat Gorge Trail. Here, I turned to the right and traveled through the ravine of the gorge, which had water in it and was lined by beautiful bay laurel trees. I took this for a short while until I saw the connector trail to the Mineral Springs Trail to the left. There are lots of unofficial trails, but the official one is evident by the signpost. This trail makes a loop that climbs out of the gorge into a eucalyptus forest that overlooks the lake. There is a truly amazing oak tree along this trail that reminded me of some of the amazing oak trees in my home state of Louisiana, especially at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. I am not yet very good at distinguishing the types of oak trees that we have in California (black oaks, valley oaks, blue oaks, etc.), but I don't usually see any of these California species spread out their branches in the same way that the majestic live oaks do in Louisiana. I took the Mineral Springs Trail in a counterclockwise direction, but I think either direction would be nice. I popped back to the Wildcat Gorge Trail and retraced my steps to the junction with the Lake Anza Trail. 

From here I completed the loop around Lake Anza. This area was both very beautiful and disappointing. The photos of the area come across as rather idyllic, but they don't accurately present what this area is like. Fishermen like to come here, and unfortunately they were leaving a lot of trash. I was kind of shocked by how disrespectful some of the folks had been. The type of trash I was seeing was not an accident like a stray cup of worms; rather, it was a whole take-away container of food and several empty bottles of beer, or a pile of dirty clothes including wet underwear. Whoever left that pile of trash didn't overlook one of the things that they brought--they just left their take-away picnic on purpose because they couldn't be bothered to pack out their trash.  I am sure that part of the problem is that the EBRPD rangers are still on a reduced staff because of the pandemic, but it is disappointing that some of the people using the park are so selfish. 

But Lake Anza is by far the busiest and trashiest part of the park. After hiking down the dam again and retracing my steps on the Wildcat Gorge a bit, I peeled to the right to take the Curran Trail uphill. The hill climbs out of the redwoods to the eucalyptus forest. You have shade the whole time that you make the ascent. As the trail emerges out of the forest into the grassy hillsides, look for the Meadows Canyon Trail to the left (just past the intersection with the Seaview Trail to the right). Near this junction, the flowers pop out, especially the sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolius, link) and the views of the valley open up dramatically. 

Along the Meadows Canyon Trail, I saw blooming lots and lots of bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare, link) and gumweed (Grindelia hirsutula, link). The bull thistle is an invasive, non-native species, and I am sure that gumweed is probably considered a weed or a pest as well even though it is native; however, I really liked seeing the pops of yellow and purple along the trail. The bees and I both loved them. And I saw a bit of artichoke thistle or cardoon (Cynara cardunculus, link), but it was not as spectacular as when I hiked Wildcat Peak earlier this summer.  This trail winds gently down a sunny, exposed ridge. It is well graded and pleasant, but it's good idea to have a hat or sunscreen here. I got to see another brush rabbit along this trail, which surprised me because it was fairly busy. It was such an interesting contrast to the rest of the hike. This trail winds its way back to the parking area to complete the hike. 

Because this area is so much cooler in temperature than a lot of the East Bay, it's a great place to hike in the summer. I am sure I will be back again soon, and I am interested to try out a version of either this hike or this one.