Life's a beach, enjoy the waves! Okay, I just made that up...but, it sounds cool, right? I know! :)…read moreIf you think that was cool, then you must check out Benicia Public Pier & Beach! Beautiful views (including Carquinez Bridge in the distance, mountains, Amtrak was chugging along in the far distance also!), ocean air, and a breeze. It was pretty cold and foggy when I first arrived. Then, the sun peaked out more and got some vitamin D. I took a nice stroll on the sidewalk that winds around the pier and by a restaurant and some homes. The ocean view stayed front and center the entire time. There wasn't many people there at the time I went. It felt like I owned the area to myself for a little bit :) There's street parking (free). There were benches all along the sidewalk and the pier, if you just want to sit and watch the ocean waves. I definitely will be returning for some more Vitamin sea time! :)

Very Clean Pier with lots of stripe bass. OG fisherman's are very friendly and helpful. Would…read moredefinitely recommend this spot for first timers..

This has been on my want to hike list for a long time and I finally got to do it on a perfect day…read more The weather was great, overcast and cool. We hiked it so fast and the views were spectacular. I can't wait to hike this in the spring with all the flowers in bloom. There are so many surrounding trails and I want to do them all! Lots of bathrooms throughout the trail. There is a visitor center at the top which you can drive to also. Please come and creat your own adventure.

My God-father lives nearby, and he thought this would be a nice little distraction from the…read morebustling cities below. He was right. The drive up was intense. It's been a while since I drove roads similar to this, so it wasn't too bad, up. Hopefully down is OK too. There is a small entry fee (per car), but also a senior discount. So we only had time for the Summit. There are more Yelp! listings for other parts of the park. OK, so I was not prepared for the breathtaking views! It was a slightly hazy, or was it smoggy, day... But the views were still fantastic! If the views were not enough, there is a visitors' center in the light tower at the summit. Inside is lots of information, a Rangers' Station, and several informative and/or interactive displays. And there is camping in Mt Diablo too! To make things even more interesting, we took a different route down. I don't like backtracking, so this was a bonus... And i wasn't too bad.

My husband and I ended up at the Mitchell Canyon entrance at Mount Diablo after we found out that…read moreboth the north and south gates of Mount Diablo were closed due to a bike race. This entrance of the park is well hidden and it also costs $6 to park here. We talked to the ranger working in the visitor center here to get some trail recommendations since we were pretty unfamiliar with this side of the park. The ranger was a very friendly man, gave us some great trail recommendations for both moderate and hard hikes. We even bought the big trail map of Mount Diablo for $6. We ended up taking a nice hike through Mitchell Canyon on the Mitchell Canyon trail. This trail is pretty moderate, but gets to be pretty challenging at around the 3 mile mark, which is where we decided to turn around and head back to the parking lot. This trail has both shade and exposed sun at times. It was pretty hot out, so make sure you bring a lot of water because there is no water in the park due to the California drought. I brought 1.5 liters with me and ended up drinking all of it on our 6 mile hike. There are several other trails at this entrance. You are also able to get to the summit from here in a 13 mile round trip hike. The hike to Eagles Peak is another popular trail as well. Definantly recommend this entrance as it is less crowded than the other entrances of the park, but still has plenty to offer.

The folks who work here are really friendly and helpful. They have a ton of resources that will…read moremake your stay in the state park more enjoyable. My favorite item is the laminated hiking map that they sell. It's a heck of a deal at $6. This location is also a great staging area for some hikes in to the park. Keep in mind that the parking is not free. It's $6 as of this date. You can pay with cash or a check and put it in a little envelope at the entrance. Inside the little Visitor Center, the folks are really helpful. Besides some exhibits of animals and minerals, they have some great things to buy like a special map as well as some clothing and hats.

John Muir lived right here in Martinez! I have been here…read moretoo many times to count. It is open every day, and free to visit!! John Muir was a very interesting man. His life story better told here and online than by me. I definitely recommend a visit! 5 stars for sure

4.4 stars We all…read moreknow some of his famous quotes: "The mountains are calling and I must go." "Going to the mountains is going home." "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." According to Brittanica, John Muir was largely responsible for the establishment of Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park. Muir was a preservationist that didn't agree with allowing industries to harvest resources within the national parks. He was able to swing public and congressional opinion in favor of national forest reservations through his writing, which led to the establishment of Mt. Rainier National Park in 1899 and Grand Canyon National Park in 1919. His home became John Muir National Historic Site in 1964. Much of the exhibits within the home discusses his personal life and achievements. He was the eldest of 8 children, immigrated to the U.S. in 1849, and he married Louie Wanda Strentzel in 1880. He and his wife had 2 daughters named Wanda and Helen. In his lifetime, he has written 300 articles and 10 books, which can be purchased online and at Muir Woods National Monument and Bear Valley Visitor's Center. I highly recommend visiting this site if you'd like more information :) there's a lot more details here.

This by far was one of the hardest trails I've ever hiked. The incline is insane! The entire trail…read morewas uphill, I was breathless. But the views the entire time made me just as choked up. It costs $10 to get into the park, gates open at 8AM. There's a 12 mile hike, loops the site. And an 8 mile hike to the Summit (round trip). At the top there's a museum inside which has an exhibit and gift shop. I got a cute T-shirt for $18, they also had a showing of the history behind the summit and how it came to be. We saw a couple deers, baby coyote, various species of birds, lizards, and butterflies. During this time of year, majority of the trail was dead. I rarely saw any hikers, mostly bikers! Most visitors drove up to the summit for pictures and views. The hardest part was definitely going up to the summit! We cut our time by half on the way back down. It was steep, so we temple ran our way down. Really fun! I highly recommend going early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the heat. Not a beginner friendly hike! Challenging. Trails not shaded. Park rangers are very friendly. Maps are also provided at entrance.

The Mary Bowerman Trail near the summit of Mount Diablo is a short .20 mile accessible trail. There…read moreis one accessible parking spot right at the start of the trail. The trail is paved and has a short incline.

I stumbled up on this open space area on a drive of Skyline Drive. I had no idea Oakland was so…read morevast and had so much open space! The preserve is 928 acres with lots of trails to explore. The main one is Round Top, Volcanic, and Skyline loop which is a little over 3 miles, and there is a trail connecting to the nearby Huckleberry Botanical Regional Preserve for a longer hike. I noticed a lot of purple and yellow thistles. I liked this preserve because there were many views and you could see far out all the way to Mt. Diablo and beyond. It used to be a former volcano million of years ago and has lots of different rock formations which someone into geology would appreciate as well as a couple of labyrinths.

This might be one of my new favorite hikes in Oakland! I love the volcanic cliffs and seeing the…read morebeautiful green rolling hills. The trianl takes you through many different terrain so it never feels boring. I also enjoyed discovering interesting sites like the labyrinth and creepy sheds. They have a medium sized parking lot, but you can also park on the side of the road if needed. Bathrooms are available.

We walked a couple of trails, explored the old coal mine, and checked out the cemetery...really…read morefascinating to see how far back those tunnels inside the caves go. The visitor center had a ton of great information and history.

Exploring the California State Parks list online a number of years ago, I liked the description and…read moremap of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. It was neat in that there were historical building(s), a cemetery, and different parts of mines in addition to the natural landscape, plants, and animals to observe. I visited a few different times in 2018 plus or minus a year. One time I brought my friend Jinsol along and another time I brought family (my mom and dad). The park volunteers/workers were friendly when we encountered them. We appreciated the map(s) of the park, it helped with exploring. Some sites were more readily identifiable than others. My mom had difficulty on some of the steeper trails, though my dad faired well. Some parts of the mines had information displayed though were not open on my visits. One of my visits was during a heat wave, while the remainder were during relatively average weather conditions. Shade was sparse, though present, during the heat wave. Even in the shade however, the heat seemed to spread. On a different occasion I slipped and fell on a pathway that had a small section that was temporarily dominantly mud. A place requiring my full attention for traversing the trail system.

Lafayette Reservoir is a beautiful local park! And there is so much parking and bathrooms with…read moretoilet paper and soap! That's honestly way more than I was expecting. The parking lot we parked in had a max 2 hour limit, which isn't enough time to walk the entire perimeter of the reservoir but it looks like there are other lots that don't have as much time restrictions. Beautiful little walk - not much of a hike because of the paved path, but it's a nice distance and has beautiful views. We would definitely come back again.

The Lafayette Reservoir is the perfect place for a family walk or hike, especially with dogs!…read moreThere's lots of shady areas around and benches along the trail to stop if you need. Parking is easy to find and pay for, and is cheap ($4 for 2 hours on weekdays). There's multiple bathrooms along the trail too. We've been coming here for years and always come back to it. If you're looking for a great hike to go on with family, friends, and pups, check out the Reservoir!

I don't recommend this place at all really bad service and high prices for no reason don't go this…read moreplace

Martha charge me a extra money for a lauggage for my trip and then I changed my ticket and need to…read moreupgrade my ticket and she told me that the price for the extra luggage was only $47 dollar it ended up that the airline didn't have space for my extra luggage and by the time I asked for refund she said the airline only refunded $20 dollar. I won't buy anything from Martha's travel anymore. She didn't gave me a receipt to prove the price for my luggage or even my plane ticket . I'm so disappointed with Martha's travel. Give a customer receipt whit price for each service and each ticket.