Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area. David Weintraub

Space Preserve: Ancient Oaks

      Trip 6 Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve: Borel Hill

      Trip 7 Monte Bello Open Space Preserve

      Trip 8 Los Trancos Open Space Preserve

      Trip 9 Windy Hill Open Space Preserve: Hamms Gulch

      Trip 10 Windy Hill Open Space Preserve: Spring Ridge

      Trip 11 Wunderlich Park

      Trip 12 Huddart Park

      Trip 13 Phleger Estate

      Trip 14 El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve: Redwood Loop

      Trip 15 El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve: Tafoni Loop

      Trip 16 Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve: Purisima Canyon

      Trip 17 Edgewood Park and Preserve

      Trip 18 Junipero Serra Park

      Trip 19 San Pedro Valley Park

      Trip 20 Montara Mountain

      Trip 21 Sweeney Ridge

      Trip 22 San Bruno Mountain State and County Park

      APPENDIX 1: BEST HIKES

      APPENDIX 2: RECOMMENDED READING

      APPENDIX 3: AGENCIES AND INFORMATION SOURCES

       Parks and Agencies

       Internet Resources

       Maps

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Preface

      This book is the result of field work that began in 1996, when I started preparing my first book for Wilderness Press. Since then, I have logged countless miles, enjoying the beautiful Bay Area in every season, and traipsing from the Sonoma coast to Silicon Valley and beyond. The results of my wanderings appeared in three Wilderness Press trail guides, East Bay Trails, North Bay Trails, Top Trails San Francisco Bay Area, and also in Peninsula Tales and Trails, a history and guide commissioned by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Wilderness Press offers two other trail guides covering regions in the Bay Area, Peninsula Trails and South Bay Trails. So this book is a compendium of trips in the East Bay, North Bay, South Bay, and on the Peninsula.

      My goal has always been to be a good guide, to share my love of the outdoors, and to show the importance of protecting Bay Area parklands. After all, a good guidebook should do more than get you from A to B. Through these pages, some of my personal predilections will no doubt come through: climbing high, enjoying native plants, looking at birds, and learning about Bay Area history.

      I hiked all the trips described in this book, many more than once. I recorded all my observations on tape, and I have tried to be as accurate and as thorough as possible in both my observations and my writing. Keep in mind, though, that nature—not to mention various federal, state, and local agencies—equals change. So your experience on the trail, affected by season, weather, time of day, etc., will very likely be different from mine. I have tried to indicate this by liberally using the word “may,” as in “Stow Lake is a favorite birding destination—from its shore you may spot great blue herons….” I hope you get to see the herons, but their appearance, like so many other things, is beyond my control.

      If you have comments, corrections, and/or suggestions, please send them to [email protected].

      Ring Mountain: view northward from near the summit of Ring Mountain (chapter 1, trip 7).

      Clockwise from top left: Joseph D. Grant County Park (chapter 7, trip 3).

      Sonoma Valley Regional Park (chapter 2, trip 5).

      Mt. Wittenberg (chapter 1, trip 17).

      Russian Ridge OSP (chapter 10, trip 5).

      Mt. Burdell OSP (chapter 1, trip 14).

      Diablo Foothills Regional Park (chapter 4, trip 6).

      Introducing the San Francisco Bay Area

      Whatever your favorite outdoor activity, you’re sure to find a place to pursue it in the Bay Area. There are about 1 million acres of public parklands within the nine counties that circle San Francisco Bay, featuring rugged coastlines, tree-filled canyons, cascading streams, grasslands sparkling with spring wildflowers, chaparral-cloaked ridges, and windy summits. No matter where you go, from Santa Rosa to San Jose, you are never far from a trailhead.

      The Bay Area is usually divided into four regions—North Bay, East Bay, South Bay, and Peninsula. The North Bay includes Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties; the East Bay consists of Alameda and Contra Costa counties; the South Bay takes in most of Santa Clara County; and the Peninsula covers San Francisco, San Mateo, and the northwestern part of Santa Clara County. Within these regions are bustling urban areas such as San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and the Silicon Valley, along with tranquil forests, mountains, beaches, marshes, and farmlands.

      Hikers take a break just off Pine Mountain Road, with Mt. Tamalpais in the background.

      Bay Area parklands are administered by various federal, state, and local agencies, listed in Appendix 3.

Climate

      The Bay Area’s climate is perfect for outdoor activities, with a dry season that lasts from May through October and a generally mild, if damp, winter. In summer, expect fog and cool temperatures near the coast, thanks to Pacific Ocean. Inland, temperatures can soar. The generally clear days of autumn are fine for hiking just about anywhere. The first rains turn hillsides green and fill seasonal creeks.

      Winter storms from the Gulf of Alaska can drench the Bay Area and even bring snow to the highest peaks. Cold, clear weather usually follows—a great time to bundle up and visit high-elevation vantage points. Spring can be sunny, rainy, tranquil, or blustery—or a combination, sometimes on the same day! This is when the Bay Area’s grasslands come alive with colorful displays of wildflowers.

      The Pacific’s moderating influence diminishes as you go inland. Temperature differences—the spread between the average highs and lows for any given location—widen as you leave the coast. Here’s an example: The highest average high temperature for San Francisco is 68.5°F, whereas the same figure for St. Helena in Napa County—only about 65 miles away—is 89.2°F. But San Francisco’s lowest average minimum, 45.7°F (January), is about 10°F warmer than St. Helena’s.

      Yearly rainfall totals, too, change as you travel around the Bay Area. Each successive range of coastal hills blocks more and more