I'm not someone who suffers from a syndrome I like to call "hiking hubris", I.e., I don't…read moremindlessly skip along on loose gravel presuming I have the scaling dexterity of a Nepalese sherpa. The De La Veaga Trail is rated as "Moderate", and they're not kidding. It connects Scotts Peak off Grizzly Peak Blvd in Tilden Park with central Orinda near the BART station. I didn't think these two points connected until I saw there was a whole area called Siesta Valley. While it's rustically scenic with Mt. Diablo views, there is little else except steep hillsides and the two trails that traverse it of which the De La Veaga is the longer one. It started on a narrow but relatively flat trail that runs along Grizzly Peak judging from the sound of traffic from above. Once I turned into the valley itself, the gravel felt a lot looser, and there were long stretches of mud even though it had not rained in over three weeks. The trail climbed pretty abruptly into the ridge line overlooking Hwy 24 in the distance. There was a cattle gate that signaled the trail was going to descend. It did and right onto a fire road where the pastoral setting was interrupted by the presence of high voltage power towers. Surprisingly it was on the way down winding into Orinda where I faced most of the challenge as there wasn't much traction provided by the loose gravel on the road. I slipped several times coming down the hill to the point where I had to pause and acknowledge my age. Perhaps walking sticks are a good idea at least for a "Moderate" trail although I have to say some that are labeled in that category were not as challenging as this one. Walking back to my starting point was much more manageable because I knew the watch-out points. This is probably not a trail that I'll walk frequently. RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails that I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

SIESTA VALLEY RECREATION AREA is managed by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), which has…read morea business address of 375 11th Street in Oakland, CA. Siesta Valley Recreation Area takes the form of huge series of rolling hills, mostly taking the form of grassy meadows, with scenic groves of eucalyptus trees located here and there. The attached Google map photo shows how the trail weaves through groves of trees (see, PHOTO). There is one main trail, which can best be accessed by parking at the parking lot for the Little Train. The second of the two attached Google map photos shows where to find the Little Train parking lot, and the nearby trail that leads you to the main trail in Siesta Valley (see, other PHOTO). The Little Train is well-known by most people in the East Bay, particularly by folks living in Oakland or in Berkeley. Once you have parked near the Little Train, Siesta Valley Recreation Area is best accessed by hiking south on BAY AREA RIDGE TRAIL. After about 20 minutes, you will arrive at the SCOTT'S PEAK TRAILHEAD. The trail is easy to find and easy to follow, because it takes the form of a well-groomed dirt road. The good quality and distinct nature of this dirt road trail is similar to that of EAST RIDGE TRAIL, which is located in REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK, located a couple of miles south of Siesta Valley Recreation Area. MAIN FEATURES. The trail takes about 90 minutes to hike from the western trailhead (Scott's Peak Trailhead) to the eastern trailhead (located on Camino Pablo Avenue in Orinda, CA, just north of the Orinda BART station). What is attractive about this hike are: (1) A great opportunity for aerobic exercise; (2) Grand vistas of distant Mount Diablo and, on occasion, the attractive sight of thick blankets of low-hanging cloud-cover that block the view of towns between Orinda and Mount Diablo; (3) Beautiful sculptural qualities of the rolling hills that you will see during your hike along the entire trail; (4) The opportunity to see occasional deer; (5) Wildflowers and plants such as, Fuller's teasel. The scenery and wild plants found during your hike at Siesta Valley Recreation Area are similar to that encountered on hikes in the western half of LAS TRAMPAS in Castro Valley. What is similar between this part of LAS TRAMPAS and Siesta Valley Recreation Area are the rolling hills that are mostly bare of trees, the lack of crowds of other hikers, and the need to carry an EBMUD hiking pass.

A great trail on the west side of Lake Chabot!!!…read more I'm lucky I live a quick drive away from here. This is one of my go to trails when I want to get a quick mid week hike in and I don't have a lot of time. I access this trail through Chabot Park, this trail is to the left. It's all dirt, small rolling hills until you get to the camp grounds. This trail doesn't always run right next to Lake Chabot, lots of curving in and out from the lake and back with small inclines and declines along the way. This trail is mostly used by walkers and bike riders, and it's a good way to just get away from it all, at least for a little while, or as long as you feel like it!!

MY PHOTOGRAPHS. (1) View to the south, of a deep canyon. At the top of my photo, you can see the…read moreBay-O-Vista neighborhood in San Leandro. (2) Later on, you pass a little peninsula of land, where people sometimes go fishing. Here and there by the water's edge there are thick patches of tall reeds. (3) Further along on Bass Cove Trail, there is a transition in the trail, where long branches from thousands of trees cover the entire trail, like a tunnel. (4) Gulch that is covered with arching trees, where the tree are covered with bright green moss. (5) Further along on Bass Cove Trail, you will encounter a second trail sign at a fork in the trail. The sign indicates the direction to Bass Cove, and the direction of Goldenrod Trail. I am posing in this photo. (6) Close up photo of one of the thousands of trees covered with bright green moss. (7) View of a beautiful little bay, located at the western edge of Lake Chabot. As you can see from this photograph, Bass Cove Trail is now about 200 feet above the Lake Chabot. (8) Photograph of several ducks. The ducks are swimming at the northern-most part of Bass Cove. BASS COVE TRAIL. The most direct access to Bass Cove Trail is by starting at the parking lot at the end of Estudillo Ave. The initial part of the hike is uphill and, once beyond the dam, it remains mostly level, where you are taking a clockwise route around Lake Chabot. Early in your hike, you will encounter a chain linked fence at the right side of the trail. Just beyond this fence is a very steep hill (almost a cliff) where a canyon resides at the bottom of the cliff. The view of the trees growing near the bottom of this canyon is beautiful. Dramatic photographs can be taken from the top of the very steep hill. Further along Bass Cove Trail, hikers will encounter a beach that has thick clusters of reeds. On occasion, one or two fishermen practice their fishing hobby near these reeds. A tiny restroom is at the edge of Bass Cove Trail, next to this beach. DISTINCTIVE STYLE OF BASS COVE TRAIL. From the beach with reeds, all the way to the northern-most area of Bass Cove, the trail consists of about 20 loops that loop inland and away from the lake, and about 20 loops that loop towards the lake. The trail loops inland where there is a gulch (the gulch is like a notch in the mountain, and the trail takes you through this notch). The trail loops towards the lake, wherever a narrow hill extends from the mountain to the west. This extending hill is sort of like an arm reaching out from the mountain to the west (here, the trail allows you to skirt this arm, and to walk around the extending arm). When hiking northwards, the gulches to your left provide opportunities for taking photographs of moss-covered trees and bushy clusters of ferns. To the right side of the trail, which is filled with gnarly-looking trees, some of them covered with electric-green moss. Because the brightly-lit waters of Lake Chabot are in back of the gnarly trees, the outlines of the gnarly trees are easier to see. DUCKS. My 300 millimeter telephoto lens enabled me to take several photographs of the ducks that make their home at the northern-most area of Bass Cove. This northern-most area had another cluster of reeds. Once at this northern-most area, hikers have the choice of continuing their clockwise hike around Lake Chabot, or continuing in the northwards direction on a straight trail (not a loop trail) that follows along Grass Valley Creek. HUMOR WHILE HIKING. Near the end of my return hike, I noticed two women walking uphill towards me, and one of them was wearing a long coat with an unusual color. I paused in my walk and said, "Can you tell me the color of your coat? I know that it is not pink or scarlet." Then, the woman with the brightly colored coat answered, "It is fuchsia ! ! !" Within a blink of an eye, I replied, "Oh, I was so CONFUCHED ! ! !" The two ladies responded with a cascade of merry laughs. Then, I continued my walk, and I was glad that their response had made my day.

We always bring our dog to the Dog trail here. Friendly people and has many dogs coming here for…read morewalk. (Unleashed areas) It could be really windy once you get to the top, so please bring a jacket if you can. This is also a great place to watch sunset in the bay area. You can see the whole SF city and bay bridge clearly on some days. You can also watch flights landing at SFO.

"Not as boring as I thought it would be"…read more I often visit Lake Chabot, but decided to try out this location instead. There's plenty of parking on the street close by. There does not appear to be any facilities anywhere in the park. On the map, it looks like just one paved trail going up the hill, but there's a lot more dirt trails as well. When you get close to the top, there's great views of Lake Chabot. Perhaps the highlight of my visit was the historical Nike missile launch site. It's fenced off so you can't get too close, but you can still see some old buildings. It's right next to the amateur radio antenna structure. So while this is still is not one of my favorite parks, it's a decent place to visit, once or twice.

Parking is ok just get really packed on the weekends of course. I always enjoy watching the planes…read morefly in and out to the sky. Great place for a nice walk if you enjoy the Bay Area strong breeze!

A bucolic hidden gem of a hiking trail in the East Bay. When my late dogs were alive, my father and…read moreI enjoyed coming here all the time to enjoy hikes and long walks with them on the paved paths. Parking can be a little awkward since it's a dead end street just a few blocks from the main road on Marina. You get a nice waterfront view of the Oakland airport runway. Planes are always coming and going, so it's nice to watch the planes take off and land as I'm enjoy a relaxing walk along the waters.

A great place for the entire family. A beautiful park where you don't have to drive for hours to…read morevisit. On the weekends, parking is $5. Best to get there early because parking fills up quick. I was there for a BBQ on July 25th, at 10 a.m., and I was able to make parking in the overflow. There's parking on the outside street, but that fills up quick, as well. Anyway, inside the park, there's a long trail that goes all the way around the lake. There's boat rental, either kayak, paddle boat, you can rent a tour boat. I think you can bring your own boat, but it's best to call and make sure. There's BBQ and picnic benches. Volleyball court. A lot of green grass to sit, play sports. There's only one restroom near the boating area, and a few small restrooms if you trek around the lake. There are plenty of hiking trails. There's camping as well. An outdoor Cafe next to the boats. No swimming or wading. You can fish, but I wouldn't eat what you catch. There's warning signs about the water.

So this reservoir was built in 1874 but closed to public, then opened for recreational use in the…read more60s. So the trails around the lake have matured really well. Like most parts of the paved trails are very well shaded from trees that have grown over those years. My dog and I walk for around an hour to hour and a half, so we usually pick west or east from the parking lot and return the same way. I think we've only explored like half of the lake so far. I've seen wild turkeys, deers, rabbits, and ducks around. And if you are wearing overear headphones, you get the natures remix with all the birds and insects chirping.

It's hidden and tucked back from the Main Street in a rather industrial area, but it's a beautiful…read moreoasis. There were tons of park benches and big tees for shade, and it's also close to a tennis or marina club that has a restaurant, but I don't know if it's members only. There is also a dog park. Very nice park and perfect round about path for a walk on the waterfront. Nice little gem in San Leandro.

Got up decided I will walk Marina. Go wash clothes and get Nug ticket…read more So, I walked 20 min. Out of shape and back began to hurt! It's ok! Baby steps. Ok at the Nug if you purchase something from Jeeter get a free gift. From last movie night. So we will see. I love free. So it's 9:24am. At the Nug u get a % off if you're early. So b4 10am I believe. We will c.

Located less than 5 minutes from 580 off of the 150th and you're in a world away. Hike, fish, bike,…read morehave a picnic or host a large party/bbq on one of several reservable areas. $5.00 plus 2 for each dog---kind of an honor system but for less than 100 you can get an EBRP year round pass that allows you to visit a lot more parks as many times as you want. Easy decision. M-F seniors get 1/2 off on boat rentals and from there you can finds the fish...if you know what you're doing ;). Anthony Chabot was a man who was instrumental in the California gold rush in the lower Sierras. He helped develop and mastered the hydraulic mining techniques required to reduce mountains to piles of rock to be sifted for gold. After those operations were shut down over environmental concerns, he brought his craft here to help make this reservoir. Amazing really. Nice spot to decompress and get right. Some areas around the lake show clear signs that hydraulic action was used. Birds, frogs, squirrels, butterflies, deer and more.

Chabot Park is not Lake Chabot Regional Park, but it does lead to there with the trails…read more The entrance to this Park is a little dicey to get to, if you're not familiar with this area of the San Leandro/East Oakland border area, it's hard to explain how to get here. And I have a feeling the residents of this area would like to keep it that way, so I'll honor their unwritten code, lol!! The Park itself is very much like your in the woods, lots of trees and fallen trees. They do have restrooms and disc golf here, which seems to be pretty popular, someone always seem to be playing it. Lots of free parking also. But the best thing about this park is the trail that can lead you to Lake Chabot. It starts off all uphill for at least 1/2 mile, then you start downhill and can determine which way around the lake you want to go. If you stay on the paved trail, to the right, you'll cross a bridge which is the Chabot Dam and it's a faster route, although hilly, to Lake Chabot Regional Park. If you choose the dirt trail, to the left, you won't necessarily stay next to the lake the whole way, there's signs to keep you on track. Either way, it's a great walk or run, watch and listen for the bike riders, sometimes they are really speeding coming off those hills. And if you're going to walk all the way around, bring water. Also, there's not a lot of areas where you get phone service. Always enjoy coming here, convenient for me!!

Went to visit a friend who lives on Malcom Ave. On a beautiful day, we went for a walk with her…read moredog into Knowland Park which we have done several times. You can access the park at the end of several dead end streets off Malcom Ave. There are trails in the park that are adjacent to the backside of Oakland Zoo. Since our previous visit last July, where goats were in the area clearing out tall grass, the Zoo has since expanded into the Park with new fencing built to mark the new zoo boundaries. During our social distance walk, we were able to look through the double layer of fencing to see the bears in their lair. The views! You get gorgeous views from the East Bay across to the West Bay from SF down to the Peninsula. A peaceful park that is peaceful and not crowded. Great place for a walk with gorgeous views.

Heard about this spot from a coworker. Finally checked it out one afternoon with my husband…read more We entered the park from a dead end court in the neighborhood, taking the trails at random. Little did we know this area is up Above the back side of the Oakland Zoo. May be one of my new favorite open spaces to explore and unplug.

Review is for their large campsite at Bort Meadows. A parent in my oldest kids class reserved a…read morehuge campsite for families in the class and I'm so glad we participated. The larger site holds up to 75 vehicles and 300 people max and because only around 50 people signed up we had so much open space to ourselves. They have one water spigot, 4 non-flushing toilets, charcoal grills, tables, and 2 fire pits so for such a large campsite it's bare bones and minimal. The grass is well maintained and there was a nice small hill and plenty of open room for kids to play in at our site. The big note if you get this spot is there is a gate blocking the entrance to the lower parking lot. They give you the combination to one of the locks but there are three combination locks attached to the gate. You can still slide the gate open with them not opened as long as you have the combination to the one lock. It was perfect cooking together potluck style and all the different games and camping toys the different families brought. It's windy in this area and perfect for kites. At night it does get cold and I would position your tent in the best way where it's convenient to get to the bathroom in the dark.

This is a review for the family campground. We had reserved camp sites 51, 52, 59, and 60 for 7…read morefamilies, with a couple sites having two families/two tents per site. The camp sites we reserved were a bit of a tight squeeze for two 6-10 person tents, mostly because of lack of flat terrain at the sites. The actual sites themselves have a fair amount of space, it's just that the space can be hilly/uneven, have sawed off tree stumps in the middle of clear spots, or be right underneath the branches of eucalyptus trees (notorious for being easier to topple/fall in windy and rainy conditions. The last you want is to have branches or the tree itself toppling onto your tent. Other than the less than ideal spaces, we did have a good time camping here. The facilities were very clean, and not needing quarters for the hot showers was a fantastic bonus. There were plenty of places for the kids to run around, and the views of Lake Chabot were breathtaking. Thankfully while we were there we didn't have any issues with noisy/disrespectful campers. Overall this is a great family camp ground that's easily accesible in the Bay Area, just be aware of some of the space limitations and plan accordingly.

Great little trail! I visited on a Wednesday afternoon, and the dirt parking lot had a lot of cars,…read moreI don't know how people find parking on weekends! I did scrape the bottom of my Honda civic in one of the wash outs, so be careful. The hike was a nice up and down and up and down, and some of it is not shaded, so brings hats, sunscreen and water. The beginning has a pen for horses, so if your dog doesn't like horses, good to keep them leashed. We hiked until the trail conjoined with Lake Chabot and turned around. There were a lot of other off leash dogs that my dog got to meet and play with. There is a small water fountain near the beginning, good spot to fill up and the water tasted good! Great hike, I'd come by again and try hiking the other direction!