Temescal Regional Recreation Area

Lake Temescal is a little jewel nestled right next to Highways 13 and 24.  The park's 48 acres include trails that circle the lake.  The East Shore and Dam Trails are paved, while the West Shore and Oak Bay Trails are dirt. As you'll see in the photos, the trails include live oaks, willow, laurel, thimbleberry, hazelnut, ferns, blackberry, toyon, a few redwoods, and of course, poison oak.  

Location: 6502 Broadway Terrace Oakland, CA 94618

Trail Map

Photo Map

Total Mileage: 1.72 miles

Total Ascent: 830 feet

Total Descent: 786 feet

Route: 

I started out on the Oak Bay Trail.  It's a pretty trail that makes a gentle climb along the west side of the lake.  

There is a nice variety of trees on this trail, including a few redwoods and a scattering of oaks.

You'll have some nice views of the lake from up here, and you'll also be able to see the Beach House (used for parties, weddings, etc.) highway 24, and the houses along the Oakland hills.  

Oak Trail is a bit of a steep drop down to the paved Dam Trail.  Along the north side of the lake, the paved Dam Trail is an access point from the north entrance of the park, and runs along a lawn area with a little playground and bathrooms.

Continuing on the Dam Trail, take a right on to the East Shore Trail.  This trail takes you along the beach, past the beach house, the little waterfall and some nice trees, and gives you a level view of the lake.

Beach House

Little waterfall next to the Beach House

"Big Rock" under some twisted old oaks further along the East Shore Trail

At the end of the East Shore Trail, there is another nice little lawn area.

At this point on my hike, I doubled back on to the West Shore Trail.  You may see quite a few fishermen on this trail, some carelessly smoking.  But, I had some nice views of the lake along this dirt trail, and there were more than a few pretty trees hovering above the lake.

I came back on the same trail, and finished this short but picturesque hike.  The total distance travelled was 1.72 miles.  Not much of a hike, but run this a few times and you'll have a great workout.  Enjoy!

Full Photo Gallery:

A Reason to Hike

Who really needs a reason to hike?  I was lucky enough to get a new camera for Christmas, the Canon s100.  It's a much smaller form factor than the Nikon d300 I lug around, and I wanted to see how it would perform on the trails.  I took it out on a test drive on the first part of the EB Mud Redwood trail, which doesn't actually have a lot of Redwoods.  It's mostly Bay Trees and a smattering of Oaks.  We've had a dry winter so far, but there were still a lot of ferns, and heavy moss on the trees.  The s100 includes a GPS logger, so you can see the images on a map here.   Final verdict?  I like the lightness of the s100, and the images are beautiful, but I have a bit more flexibility with the d300.  However, the s100 has HD video, HDR mode, and a bunch of other cool features. I guess I'll have to keep experimenting...

Images of the Redwood Trail:

Sunrise Trail Loop Hike, Briones Regional Park

I had a wonderful hike on Saturday that surprised me with beautiful canopies and spectacular views of Mt. Diablo poking out from an ocean of fog.  Even though it was 36 degrees at the start of the hike, the nice ascent of the Sunrise Trail will bring out the heat in you.  

Mt. Diablo rising up from the fog

Location: Briones Regional Park. Trailhead is at the end of Springhill Road, in Lafayette, Ca. 

Photo Map

Trail Map

Total Mileage: 4.73 miles

Total Ascent: 2968 feet

Total Descent: 2737 feet

Notes:

Starting at a secluded trailhead at the end of Springhill Road, you'll pass through the first of many cattle gates you'll encounter.  You'll see the first trail marker, which will point the way to the Buckeye Ranch Trail.  You'll shortly pass through another cattle gate, which will take you on the beautiful, canopied section of this trail.  The sun was streaming in through the trees when I went, and the only sound was the occasional Jay squawking about my disturbing their morning.  

Sun streaming in on the Buckeye Ranch Trail

This was a nice, peaceful forested trail, loaded with moss covered Oaks and Bay trees  There was a dry creek bed to my right, but during a normal winter that should be flowing nicely.  

You'll soon come to a Y split.  To your right you can access the Sunrise Trail.  But, keep to your left, as the Buckeye Ranch Trail will loop you back, and you'll want to enjoy a little more of this canopy.  There are quite a few trees and groves with a lot of personality.  Keep an eye out for this old giant that probably lived over 200 years before it collapsed:

As you loop back, you'll go through one more gate.  Make sure you close all the gates completely, because there were a few cows lounging around in this area. At one mile, you'll see the sign for the Sunrise Trail.  Go straight here, and soon you'll be wandering through this little cluster of oaks:

I came across the remains of a cow here, with signs that some nocturnal visitors had already started feasting on it.  Sunrise Trail is a climb, and this is where you'll start to feel your quadriceps tingling and your heart knock on your ribs.  You'll climb out of this little valley to follow a ridge line up along some rolling hills.  Look at the photo map to get some perspective.  On the morning of my hike the fog was heavy, and at this point I could see it still hanging around in the valley below me.  

Keep climbing, keep climbing, you've got a ways to go.  But as you climb, keep turning around to check out the view.  

At 2.65 miles, you'll come to the Briones Crest Trail.  Take this trail through some nice oaks, and enjoy the shade for a while.  It's a nice spot for a PBJ and an iced tea.  

It seems like I always make a few bovine friends on these hikes, and this crew was pretty cordial:

At 3.53 miles, you'll take a left on to the Lafayette Ridge Trail.  The curves of this trail looked like a giant anaconda resting in the California sun.  

At 3.66 miles, take a left on to the Buckeye Ranch Trail. Follow this trail through a few more scenic groves, and you'll come to the Sunrise/Buckeye Ranch Trail split.  This time, take a right to the Buckeye Ranch Trail and follow that back to the trailhead.  

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Kennedy Grove Trail Notes

Kennedy Grove is a beautiful surprise.  I visited the park on a cold, wet November morning.  Rainy skies usually provide the best light for photography, but it's tough to keep the camera dry.  When I got there, it was just me and the ranger in the park.  I was most interested in the trails around the recreation area, but it's a beautiful setting for picnics and gatherings.  

Picnic area at Kennedy Grove

The Eucalyptus trees in this part of the park were planted in 1910.  These trees grow fast, and as you can see above, they're huge.  

Location: Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area

Directions

Trail Map

There is a fee for parking and dogs.  

It wasn't raining when I got there, but started as soon as I got my camera out.  I pretty much had the place to myself, but I imagine this is bustling in the summer. Right off the parking lot, I got on to the Laurel Loop Trail.  This is a wide trail, and it runs along the side of the lawn area.  

You'll pass some of the Eucalyptus giants on this trail.  I have mixed feelings about these trees.  They are quite impressive, but they're non native and often poison the soil below them.  The one plant that does seem to like them is poison oak, which is often found wrapped around the base of these trees.  

After walking the Laurel Loop Trail, you'll see a sign that will guide you to the Lower Sea Foam Trail.  By taking the Lower Sea Foam Trail, you'll be able to get some spectacular views of San Pablo Dam the the reservoir.  At .70 you'll access the Lower Sea Foam Trail.

My GPS watch that tracks my elevation gains could not connect with a satellite, but the Lower Sea Foam Trail is a bit of a climb.  I had the added weight of a few pounds of mud on my boots.  

On this part of the hike, you'll go through mostly shrub, and the path becomes a single track trail.  

As you hike, make sure you enjoy the views of the San Pablo Reservoir.  

At 1.05 miles, I connected with the Upper Sea Foam Trail.  

This continues your climb, but it is incredibly rewarding when you reach the top.  The sight of a beautiful Oak grove took my breath away. 

Take some time up here, and look at the incredible twists and contortions of these old trees.  There are a couple of beauties with some real personality:

Follow the Upper Sea Foam Trail as it winds downhill through a dense army of Oaks that seem to reach out to you like green ghosts.

As you descend down the trail, you'll see more Bay trees, and the whole atmosphere, especially in the rain, reminds you of a scene from middle earth.   

Follow the trail down to Kennedy Creek Trail, and take a left to head back to the picnic and parking area.  There are still a few beautiful sights in this section.

You'll walk back to where you started, and you can tell your friends that they should have joined you on this hike. The total distance hiked was 2.28 miles, but be prepared for the climb to Upper Sea Foam Trail.  Have fun, and be safe!

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Rocky Ridge Trail Notes

The Rocky Ridge trail has been on my "to do" list for a while.  Certain parts are quite remote, but it offers beautiful views and a stunning grove of twisted and contorted Oaks.  

Location: Start at Rancho Laguna Park, in Moraga, California.  

Trail Map

Photo Map

Permit

Total Mileage: 6.01 miles

Total Ascent/Descent: 2461 feet

There are a lot of cows in this hike.  Starting out at Rancho Laguna Park, sign in at the station before the hike. Click on the Permit link to get a permit from East Bay Mud.  

You'll hike up to see some peaceful rolling hills, usually dotted with cows.  Follow the signs to the trail.  At .40 miles you'll come to a split where King's Canyon Loop Trail and Rocky Ridge meet, so keep to your left and hike along the fence.  You may see these trail sentries:

At .77 go through gate and get past this group of cows.  You'll enter in to a beautiful grove of Oaks.  In the winter, this next section has a nice stream through it.  This area is particularly lush during the winter and spring. 

At 1.14 miles, you'll leave this part of the forest and get on to a ridge trail.  There will be some nice climbing in this area.  You'll end up going through another cattle gate, and start a descent in to a valley.  

At 1.84 miles, you'll see where the trail leads to your left, on to a fire road type trail.  As you hike on this trail, you'll come to this sign:

It's confusing here.  The sign looks like it's pointing to stay on the fire road, but it's actually indicating a trail off to the right.  So stay to your right.  Not knowing this, I enjoyed a little detour up this trail to a locked gate, then doubled back to this point.  

I continued on this trail for just over 3 miles.  At that point, I took out a few slices of pizza and an ice tea and watched the hawks circle lazily above me.

I returned back to Rancho Laguna via the same route.

Don't let the remoteness of this trail scare you away.  It offers nice views,  some great Oak forests and a wide variety of wildlife.  

Have Fun!

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