Skip to main content

Exploring Oakland's Redwood Regional Park

Distance: 8.7 miles
Elevation: 1,627 feet
Time: 3.5 hours 
Route: https://www.strava.com/activities/1012052562

The wide Stream Trail
Yesterday, two friends, my dog Jodie, and I headed to Redwood Regional Park across the bay from San Francisco in Oakland. I'd wanted to visit this park for years to see redwoods in a less busy and hectic setting than Muir Woods.

For our route, we chose two longer trails that would create a large loop around the park. We started our hike on the southern side of the park near the Wayside Picnic Area. (You can click here for a trail map.) The entry fee was $5 for our car and $2 for the dog. 

 From the parking lot, we picked up the wide and peaceful Stream Trail that took us on a 3-mile ascent to the northern edge of the park. Along our way, we found plentiful restrooms and groves of redwoods to duck into.
Redwood grove off the Stream Trail
The trail ended at a parking lot, the Skyline Gate Staging Area. To return to our start, we climbed 0.5 miles on the West Ridge Trail and then turned left onto the French Trail. For about 0.5 miles, the trail was narrow, downhill, and covered with rocks and roots.

After this section, the trail widened and we encountered a number of rolling hills through more redwoods. As we were on higher ground here, there were no more restrooms in sight. We continued on the French Trail for another 3.5 miles, passing a number of trail junctions on our way.

At 7.7 miles total, the French trail met up with the Orchard Trail, where we turned left, dropping 400 feet in just 0.3 miles. At 8 miles, we turned right on the Bridle Trail, and continued back to our car for a flat last 0.7 miles of the hike.
Jodie on the French Trail
This hike was a nice break from the hustle of the city. It was a cool summer day in the Bay Area, so I could imagine this trail being much more crowded on a warmer typical summer day. 

As this is a dog-friendly trail and we saw a number of off-leash dogs running around, I'd avoid this trail if you're not a lover of our four-legged friends.
Labels:
Location: Oakland, CA, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Quick Steps For Identifying Poison Oak

It's that time of year again, and poison oak leaves are sprouting out all over the Bay Area. Getting poison oak is no fun, so if you don't know what poison oak looks like, today is your day to learn!   Poi son oak, you say... So first, why is poison oak so poisonous? It's not that it's actually poisonous, but it does contain urushiol , an oil that can irritate the skin, causing rashes or blisters. The frustrating thing about poison oak (well, one of many frustrating things) is that it's hard to know immediately if you've had contact with the plant. It normally takes 24-36 hours for any skin irritation to appear. I have a quick four-step system to identify poison oak. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. (Remember, I am not a medical professional. This is not medical advice. :)) The four-step system Step 1: Listen to the old adage, "Leaves of three, let it be." Poison oak has clusters of three leaves on the entire plan
1 comment
Read more

Visiting San Francisco's TEN Mosaic Stairways

San Francisco is home to TEN beautiful mosaic stairways ( see map here ), but they were all inspired by one. The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project (2005) The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project began in early 2003 when Sunset residents Jessie Audette and Alice Xavier decided to bring people together while beautifying their neighborhood. Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher were chosen as the project artists. The 163-step mosaic features a landscape that spans from the bottom of the ocean all the way to the sun in the sky. The inspiration for the steps came from Selarón’s staircase , a mosaic staircase in Rio de Janeiro named after artist Jorge Selarón. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on August 27, 2005–which the mayor’s office proclaimed “16th Avenue Tiled Steps Day.” Location: Moraga Street between 15th and 16th Avenues Hidden Garden Steps (2013) Inspired by the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, the neighboring Hidden Garden Steps were conceived in January 2010 and completed in November
4 comments
Read more

Two Great Hikes Near Cavallo Point and Fort Baker

L ast year, I went to a wedding reception at the Cavallo Point Lodge and my boyfriend and I decided to spend the night there. The morning after the reception, we wanted to take advantage of our location and get some exercise, so we decided to explore some local trails. I revisited these trails again recently and wanted to write about them so you can take advantage of them, too. Hike 1: Cavallo Point Loop 
1.9 miles, 300 feet elevation gain Shortened version on the trail on Relive     Strava route to download or duplicate From outside the hotel’s main building (where the valet stand is) walk diagonally across the large lawn to reach the intersection of Murray Circle and Center Road. There you'll see a (small) trail sign for the Bay Trail. Head straight here onto Moore Road and then take your first left onto Sommerville Street. Start walking along Horseshoe Bay.  When you reach the Presidio Yacht Club after about 0.1 mile, take a wood walkway in front of the buildi
Post a Comment
Read more