Beautiful views of the Bay!…read more The trails are steep, with plenty of gravel and poison oak beside the path. Be careful to stay on the trail and wear pants. There are no bathrooms. They have benches along the paths so you can sit and enjoy the scenery. Parking is easy, with plenty of street parking. Saturday can be a little hectic because the recycling center is open and there is limited parking. My go-to hike for a peaceful, fast hike with beautiful views! Cuatro catorce dos mil viente cinco

Great place with awesome views. Steep if you go west to east, can be muddy. But! Dogs on leash only…read moreand bicycles/ebikes/motorized vehicles NOT allowed. Only open sunrise to sunset.

I am always up for discovering new spots I haven't been to in Norcal, Bay area specifically. I had…read moreno idea Richmond had a beach! Point Molate Beach park is a somewhat hidden spot right off 580. There are picnic benches, and steep grassy area. You can get down to the sand at a couple spots with care and ninja like agility (LOL). I enjoyed some time here on a Friday morning. The views of the water and the beautiful San Rafael-Richmond bridge is one of my favorite sites in the Bay. The park wasn't crowded. The parking lot is small. The port-o-potty was surprisingly well maintained and was just cleaned when I arrived. There was some construction going on. After some research, turns out a pedestrian and bike path is coming sometime in 2027. I honestly have no complaints. I'm happy to find a nice, secluded spot to get away and take in some beautiful views. I plan to return again sometime soon.

Nature and bay come together here with breathtaking views. Drive the road to the end and have lunch…read moreat the park tables or on out to The Sailing Goat. View the bay, see deer and Osprey (sea eagles) nesting. Easy access at the last exit heading west to San Rafael. just before getting on the Richmond/San Rafael bridge.

Wonderful place to view the bay area on top of a hill. Not a bad place to see the sunset.read more

"Up there we see everything, Oakland to the left, El Cerrito and Richmond to the right, Marin…read moreforward, over the Bay, Berkeley below, all red rooftops and trees of cauliflower and columbine, shaped like rockets and explosions, all those people below us, with humbler views; we see the Bay Bridge, clunkety, the Richmond Bridge, straight, low, the Golden Gate, red toothpicks and string, the blue between, the blue above, the gleaming white Land of the Lost/Superman's North Pole Getaway magic crystals that are San Francisco." -Dave Eggers This wasn't written for Nicholl's Knob but you will see breathtaking views here as well. It's a simple little hike, up a few intense hills but the views are well worth it. It will take you about an hour if you stop for pics. You can do another hour on the Bay at Knox Regional across the street. Not many folks on the hills and I doubt that will ever change. A lovely hidden gem.

They finally finished the Rodeo stretch of the San Pablo Bay Regional Trail at Pacific Avenue. They…read morespent money on a large footbridge over the marshland, but there is little to do at the end but turn back since it turns industrial pretty fast. One suggestion I have is considering the walk over the railroad overpass and into this postage stamp of a shoreline park. There is indeed a Rodeo Beach but nothing like the scenic sandbar in the Marin Headlands. Just a lot of concrete rubble. Nicer is the small bluff that drops into the bay, an almost Monterey touch you don't expect to see in these parts. There's also a beached tugboat and remnants of a long-gone pier to consider for photographic purposes. OK, now you can walk back on the trail. RELATED - Exploring the western part of Contra Costa County? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2VyCP18

A great walking trail…read more Stopped by for my daily walk and was reminded why this is one of my favorite places to be active. Features: Walking paths Benches Dog friendly Fishing Water views Shade some Parking The trail picked up by the watering plant in Pinole. Small parking lot, don't feel too safe walking it alone. Definitely will walk it again with a friend.

Beautiful biking and walking trail along the SF Bay trail. Clean. Paved. Safe. And you see the…read moreamtrack line roll by.

One of those backyard discoveries that makes me question why it's taken me so long to actually get…read morehere. Welp... I finally made it here. And it is truly sensational. I've pretty much been all up, down, and around Tilden Park. But even with that, I always seem to discover trails that I've never hiked before. It's a huge park, so that makes total sense. Wildcat Peak was one of those recent discovery trails and vista points for me. I've always seen it on the park map, but you know when you get used to hiking on your favorite trails and you neglect all of the rest? That was me. I mean, that IS me. A creature of habit I guess. So on this very day, I decided to explore a different part of Tilden. Entered the park through the nature area and started near Jewel Lake on the Wildcat Creek Trail. This trail is super easy, flat, and partially paved. You'll pass by Jewel Lake along this trail. Turned right onto Sylvan and then left onto the Wildcat Peak Trail. This part of the Wildcat Peak Trail features switchbacks that incline up to the peak. It's a nice workout in general, but the views of the Bay is what makes this jaunt super enjoyable. Once you reach the peak, you'll have the most incredible views of the Bay Bridge, Briones Reservoir, San Pablo Bay, and Berkeley city views. There's a little brick barrier wall at the summit where you can sit and admire the views. It's 360 degrees of pure scenic bliss up there. From here, you can go back the same way you came up, or you can connect to another trail. I connected to the Laurel Canyon trail which looped me back around to the Tilden Nature area. There are so many vibrant wildflowers and plants nestled along this trail loop. The trail has a nice mix of covered and exposed paths. You'll pass through beautiful groves and notice the rampant wildlife on the trails. In the late winter and early spring, it's so incredibly green here. Wildcat Peak is such a gorgeous vista point within Tilden Park. I'd highly recommend the Wildcat Creek/Wildcat Peak/ Sylvan/Laurel Canyon trail loops. It's simply marvelous.

It's hard to imagine that the bucolic fire roads in Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Park once connected…read morethe US military with missile radar stations and launch sites during the depths of the Cold War. Or maybe not given the escalating tensions we have with Russia. But back in 1962 during a moment of atypical calm, a stone circle was built by the Berkeley Rotary Club to allow people agitated by the Commies a meditative spot to take in panoramic, 360-degree views of the SF Bay Area to the west and San Pablo Reservoir to the east. Years later it's still a nice respite if it isn't crowded up here as it sometimes does on warm weekends. Most people walk on Nimitz Way, the mostly paved path from Inspiration Point, to get here. However, my favorite route starts on the Wildcat Creek Trail where I take the gradual climb on the Conlon Trail where you get the same bay views you get from the peak. Except maybe for a herd of unimpressed cows in your way. I then descend on the zig-zaggy Wildcat Peak Trail back to Wildcat Creek. Gee, I sound like an actual hiker, don't I? RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

Pinole Creek Trail is about half a mile long from the mouth of the creek that starts from the bay…read moreand into the downtown area of Pinole. The creek itself is 10.95 miles long running through town, but the trail is a nice, flat and paved area that many locals utilize to jog, run, walk and stroll. There are several bridges that runs through the creek, including an elevated wooden railroad bridge that is quite picturesque. On the other side of the trail is the Bay Trail, and parts of that trail is not paved, especially from San Pablo Ave. all the way to the mouth of the creek. However, both trails connect to Bayfront Park towards the railroads and Pinole Shores. So depending on what route to take, you can spend quite some time to get your exercise. For us, it's the exercise, walking the dog and being outside. Especially when the weather is nice, it's quite a nice stroll with enjoyable views while being out in nature and still in an urban setting. However, it's the best of both worlds and the city of Pinole does a great job of maintaining the trail. Along the creek is also Fernandez Park, with kids' playground, community center, basketball court and a baseball field. It gets busy during the weekend with plenty of outdoor activities for both adults and kids alike. The creek is a mixture of both salt and fresh water that attracts countless of wildlife. I think there's always a family of ducks that are always swimming or just hanging around the banks of the creek. There's definitely fish in the creek since you'll spot their activities on the water. And the many types of birds that will stop to take a bath or feed during their migration. At the mouth of the creek where it meets the bay, there's a waste water treatment plant, and depending on where the wind blows, you might get a whiff of an unpleasant smell. However, it's quite a nice area to explore during low tide as you can walk a pretty good distance off shore. Make sure your wearing the right kind of footwear since it's very muddy. Doing this activity makes me feel like a kid again. Here's a little secret: On both sides of the trail, there are rows of bushes that grow wild berries. People forage these bushes all the time and we've done our fair share of foraging. I've even made several milkshakes as a result of our foraging. I'm not gonna tell you which are the sweet ones, I'll let you figure that out yourselves. Oh, and the bushes are very thorny so be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Hubbers and I don't live too far from here, and since our 6-month-old pup has now been trained to…read moretake walks, there was no better idea than to come and finally check this place out. We lucked out and came through on a nice clear late afternoon. The trail is available for walkers (for both 2 and 4 legged creatures) as well as bikers. People were conscious at social distancing (given the current pandemic crisis we're currently going through) which I thought was really cool. We really enjoyed it. We even lost track of how far we went because we got distracted looking out the water. The only thing I would suggest for improvement is maybe to have more trash bins. Don't get me wrong - the trail is generally nice, but it would be better if I wasn't seeing a bit of garbage here and there. (Yeah, there are some undisciplined people out there, shame on them.) Hubbers, our pup and I liked it so much we made a return visit in less than 48 hours. Definitely a good go-to to catch some fresh air and getting some steps in!

This "Hazel Downer-Thorton Memorial Grove/Park" on Adobe Road (across from Pinole Dog Park) could…read morebe a very nice place if not a "Crown Jewel Picnic/Park Spot" in Pinoles/West Contra Costa County, BUT instead BOTH the City of Pinole's Politicians, Public Works, Parks & Rec Depts Managers & Staff should ALL be both ashamed/embarrassed, reprimanded if not put on-notice for having shunned their basic responsibilities in maintaining if not improving this Rundown/Pigs-Stye/Black-Eye of a Pinole City-Run Public Park Property!!! The following On-Going DANGEROUS, Unhealthy & Unsafe Conditions at this Park-Grove that have existed/going-on for several years to only worsen now in the last few years that currently affect the City of Pinole and its surrounding Public-Communities are: 1. Numerous Medium to Large piles of Old Broken Trees, Limbs/ Branches, Leaves n Wood-Chips throughout the Grove Picnic, Park & Trail Areas! 2. Several Large/Big-Tall Old Decayed-Rotten n/or Diseased Large-California Bay-Laurel Trees & Branches that are dangerously Splitting, Cracking n/or Listing over some of the Park/Groves Picnic-Tables, Bench & Trail Areas! 3. Grove-Park area n Adobe Road parking area is often a hang-out/haven for loitering pot-smokers, boozers n/or duggee-pushes as you can find used needles/syringes n beer-wine bottles debris scattered in the area! 4. Past n currently there are 1-2 Homeless Peeps-Encampments off the top-trail/hillside in/along brush-tree area running thru this Parks/Grove! We the general-public n tax-paying citizens, families & children in n around the City of Pinole deserve better and should not have to be subjected and exposed to this kind of a very stressfully-dangerous, unhealthy and unsafe Public-City Park Facility, not to mention this type of actvity/behavior not only lowers our property-values and quality of life, but also greatly-increases the probability of liability-law suits the City and its tax-paying citizens could be subject to, as a result of a bad-incident or accident, god-forbid! To All Concerned: We can ALL be good-stewards of our community & environment by calling n/or writing the City of Pinole Mayor Norma Martinez-Rubin, City Council Members Anthony Tave, Vincent Salimi, Devin Murphy, City Public Works Director Tamara Miller & City Manager Andrew Murray! Thx Mucho!!!

Such a beautiful park that is hidden in Pinole…read more I think it is great to have so many aspects in location, that is here at this park. There are picnic tables, trails, and a great dog park.