East Bay Trails. David Weintraub
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out and summer’s cooling blanket of fog has retreated off shore. Although lightning-caused wild fires are part of the natural cycle and play an important role in maintaining the health of certain ecosystems, fires caused by human carelessness should be prevented. Each jurisdiction has its own rules about when and where fires are permitted; if you plan to have a barbecue or camp fire, obey the rules and use extreme caution. If you must smoke, do so only when stopped and never while walking. Pack out your butts. Smoking is prohibited in Mt. Diablo State Park and on EBMUD lands.
Each jurisdiction has its own rules about dogs. Where permitted at all, dogs must be leashed when in developed areas such as parking lots and picnic sites, and under voice command at all other times. Dogs frighten and chase wildlife; they may also frighten people who do not want to be approached by an unfamiliar animal. Carry plastic bags to clean up after your dog, and dispose of the waste in a garbage can. For a list of trails on which dogs are prohibited, see Appendix 1.
Cattle graze in many of the East Bay parklands. As you hike in parks where cattle graze, you will pass through many gates designed to keep them in or out of certain areas. Close all gates as instructed by signs; leave others in the position you found them.
Using This Book
The trips in this book are organized in eight chapters, with each chapter covering a specific area of the East Bay. Chapter 1, Bayside, includes trips along the shores of San Francisco and San Pablo bays. From there, the chapters (and trips) proceed roughly west to east and north to south, ending with the Livermore area. Thus the book reflects geography, and parklands that are neighbors will be found on neighboring pages. (Appendix 1 is a selection of highly recommended trips.)
Information about length, time, and difficulty, along with a summary of the trip and its highlights, is presented at the start of each route description. Also here is information about fees, trail use, and the facilities available. Driving directions are given from the closest major roadway or roadways, and include the location of the trailhead in relation to where you park your car. Car-shuttle trips have travel directions to both trailheads. Remember to check park hours, usually posted at the entrance, and make sure you can return before the parking-area gates close.
The following is an explanation of the terms used at the start of each route description.
Length: An estimate of the total mileage of the trip, exactly as described. Mileages for out-and-back trips include both the outbound and return legs.
Time: An estimate of the time it takes an average hiker to complete the trip, including stops along the way.
Rating: A subjective evaluation based on distance, total elevation gain/loss, and terrain. Here is an explanation of the four categories:
Easy. Short trips with little or no elevation gain.
Moderate. Trips of several hours or more, with some ups and downs but no significant elevation changes.
Difficult. Extended trips with significant elevation changes.
Very Difficult. The longest, most rigorous trips in this book.
Regulations: The agency or agencies having jurisdiction over the route as described, along with information about fees and trail use. A listing of agencies, along with the abbreviations used in this book, is in Appendix 3.
Within each route description, the steepness, or grade, of various sections is indicated by the terms gentle, moderate, and steep. For uphill travel, a gentle grade is one that can be walked without much effort by someone who is reasonably fit. A moderate grade may cause you to slow your pace somewhat, but should not interrupt the flow of the hike. A steep grade involves a slow, steady pace, much huffing and puffing, and perhaps rest stops. For downhill travel, a gentle grade means easy walking, while moderate and steep descents require an increasing amount of caution, especially over rough terrain such as loose dirt or gravel.
Most of the trips in this book are loops or semi-loops (a loop with a significant out-and-back section.) The rest of the trips fall into two categories: out-and-back and point-to-point. Trips which are point-to-point, such as the Ohlone Wilderness Regional Trail, segments of the East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail, and the Ramage Peak hike, involve a car shuttle; this is noted and explained in the Directions section of the route description. The few out-and-back routes either have no loop possibility, or none that is worth pursuing.
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit) runs buses to some of the parklands in the East Bay; these buses often connect to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations. If you plan to use public transit, it is best to check current AC Transit (www.actransit.org) and BART (www.bart.gov) schedules for routes, days of operation, and frequency of trains and buses. The Bay Area Travelers Information System phone number is (510) 817-1717.
Bayside
◆ Point Pinole Regional Shoreline ◆
BAY VIEW TRAIL
Length: 5.2 miles
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Rating: Moderate
Regulations: EBRPD; fees for parking and dogs; dogs not allowed on fishing pier and must be leashed at all times.
Facilities: Picnic tables, water, toilet, phone, children’s play area. A shuttle van from the parking area to a fishing pier at the end of Point Pinole runs daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays; there is a small fee, but seniors, the disabled, and children under age 6 ride free. Dogs are not allowed on the shuttle. The shuttle leaves the parking area at half past every hour beginning at 7:30 A.M. Return trips leave the pier turnaround area at a quarter past every hour. The last trip back to the parking area is at 3 P.M.
Directions: From Interstate 80 in Pinole, take the Richmond Parkway/Fitzgerald Dr. exit and follow Richmond Pkwy. west 1.9 miles to the Giant Highway exit. After exiting, go 0.3 mile to a stop sign, turn right, and go another 0.2 mile to Giant Highway. Turn right and follow Giant Highway as it jogs left, crosses railroad tracks, and jogs right for a total of 0.7 mile to the park entrance, left. Go 0.1 mile to the entrance kiosk, then turn left into the parking area. The trailhead is at the northwest corner of parking area.
Point Pinole juts north like a thumb into San Pablo Bay, and the more than 10 miles of easy trails through its marshlands, grassy fields, and groves of eucalyptus offer a sanctuary from the almost continuous industrial and residential development stretching along the East Bay shoreline from San Leandro to the Carquinez Bridge. This loop trip follows The Bay View Trail to the tip of the point, then returns via the Marsh and Cook’s Point trails.
History buffs will especially enjoy this hike, because Point Pinole was the location of a large explosives manufacturing industry, which, from 1880 to 1960, turned out 2 billion pounds of dynamite. A few remnants, in the form of sunken bunkers and half-buried railroad ties, of this dangerous yet prosperous enterprise are still visible. Before starting out, you might take a moment to visit a commemorative plaque, just west of the entrance kiosk and beyond the parking-area fence, which designates Point Pinole a California Historical Landmark and tells more about the area’s unique history.
Leave the parking area and walk north along the left of two paved roads that soon join (the right one is used by a shuttle van ferrying people to the fishing pier). Turn left to cross a bridge over railroad tracks. Just past the bridge, turn left again and follow the Bay View Trail, here a dirt path, leading downhill through a grove of eucalyptus, Point Pinole’s dominant tree, to Parchester Marsh, a large expanse of pickleweed and