Bay Area Hiking

Pirates Cove Adventures with Amigos~ Guest Post on Latino Outdoors

Queremos aventura, algo diferente! My friend, Lorena has caught the "Outdoor Adventure Bug" as I call it.  I had to find a hike that lived up to our previous adventures like

Rancho Corral de Tierra at Golden Gate National Recreation Area

.  We tossed around ideas like Mt. Tamalapais, Pinnacles National Park, and the Santa Cruz Mountains, but nothing sat well with me.  I literally spent days looking for an adventurous place to hike, especially since Lorena and her husband Eliu had just returned from an Anniversary trip to the sierras trip and then I found Pirates Cove....

If you want to go there....

The 5.9 mile loop hike starts at Tennessee Valley Road in Mill Valley, which has a dirt parking lot, bathrooms and picnic tables. Start hiking on Tennessee Valley Road and take a quick right onto Fox Trail which is an uphill 1.0 mile hike to Coyote Ridge.  Fox Trail turns continues to Coast Fire Rd for 0.9 miles, which has FANTASTIC views of Muir Beach.  Turn left onto Coastal Trail for 1.0 mile to Pirates Cove spur.   

NOTE: Pirates Cove spur is very rugged and steep, please take caution.

Return back up the spur and continue straight up the stairs and head to the right for 1.1 miles on an uphill hike on Coastal Trail.  Continue on Tennessee Valley Trail on a 1.1 downhill hike back to the parking lot.

Mileage: 5.9 Miles

Elevation: Approx. 1,800 ft

Elapsed Time: 6 hours 28 minutes (Including Lunch Break)

Group: 7 Adults & 2 Toddlers

Family Friendly (Difficulty Level 1-10): Level 6

Related Posts and Links:

  1. Latino Outdoors: Pirates Cove Adventure with Amigos
  2. The Hidden National Park - Rancho Corral de Tierra

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Family Hiking Adventure Completed: 2013 Trails Challenge

In the beginning of 2013, I signed up for the Trails Challenge through Regional Parks Foundation, East Bay Regional Park District, (EBRPD) and Kaiser Permanente.  Its a program to promote "Healthy Parks, Healthy People" for Bay Area Residents to explore the parks as well as promoting healthy living!  Each year the program comes out with a list of specific trails in parks that must be completed: Five of the listed trails or 26.2 miles (marathon) of trails.  We completed the challenge by hiking but the challenge can also be completed by biking the trails.

Last year I was unable to complete the challenge due to travel and illness but this year not only did I complete the five trails but we did it as a family, hiked over 26.2 miles in East Bay Parks!  We also had a lot of fun exploring my local East Bay parks.  Here's a little overview of all the parks we visited this year!




Mileage: 2.5 Miles
Memorable Fact: This was my FIRST time hiking solo with my two toddlers.




Mileage: 5.2 miles
Memorable Fact: Never seen the hills so green.


Garin Regional Park - Ukraina Loop Trail


Mileage: 3.4 miles
Memorable Fact: We hiked very close to cows!




Mileage: 7.1 miles
Memorable Fact: Accidentally hiked in the dark, heard coyotes and it's the HARDEST hike I've done in the East Bay hills.


Tilden Regional Park - Inspiration Point/Curran Trail


Mileage: 3.1 miles
Memorable Fact: The Four "Famous" Trails Intersection are on this hike.

Miles: 2.6 miles
Memorable Fact: The longest 2.6 miles we hiked with our toddlers, great views of the SF Bay.


Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area - Old Creek Trail


Miles: 2.5 Miles
Memorable Fact: First time hiking along the quarry.

The Trails Challenge is a great way to explore East Bay parks, stay healthy, a great way to get motivated to get outdoors.  Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is a very urban environment but we definitely get outdoors in our surroundings.  National and State Parks are great but local parks are my go to places almost on a daily basis.  Can't wait for 2014 Trails Challenge!



Do you have a favorite local East Bay Regional Park? For those not in the East Bay, what is your favorite local park?

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's Facebook and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Hiking Along Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area

Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area

is a local East Bay Park located in Fremont, California.  In all my years of living near by we have never visited this park!  I've seen it hundreds of times, driving by it and seeing it from above on BART (the train) but once again the

2013 Trails Challenge

brought us to a nice little park.  If you would like to read about our other 2013 Trails Challenge hikes

please click here

!

Quarry Lakes is a very family friend recreation area, activities including hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, picnicking, boating, dog walking as well as hosting many organized walks and running events!  Quarry Lakes is located near the Niles District near the border of Fremont and Union City surrounded by a residential area, there is a $5 parking fee.

Our 2.5 mile hike started on Old Creek Trail (about 1 mile) near the Boat Launch parking lot, the trail is just a gravel path wide enough for bikes, walkers and hikers.  There are lots of benches around the lakes to take breaks!  As parents we've recently decided that our son will no longer be carry on our hikes since he's weighing 40 lbs or more and our backs can't take it anymore, so our hikes have significantly been shorten and have very little elevation.  Long story short Quarry Lakes is a great place to for my son to hike!

Along Old Creek Trail we saw Canadian Geese!

We skipped rocks!

And most importantly played in the dirt! My Dirt Angel Girl!

We made it to the Western Pacific Trail which follows the BART Tracks....my son got excited and screamed with glee every time a train passed by!  We saw a little lizards and lots of vultures flying above.  It was a great easy hike to stretch our legs, complete another 2013 Trails Challenge hike and get outdoors!!

Implosion Hike...What's Not to Like?!

Saturday, August 17, 2013 was the last day Warren Hall stood at

California State University East Bay

(CSUEB) in the Hayward Hills.  As a 2004 CSUEB graduate (formerly known as Cal State Hayward), I wanted to see where I had many computer, accounting, french classes and the building where I paid thousands of dollars go down into the ground.

Photo Courtesy of 

+Paul McWilliams

 of 

Not a Moment to Lose

We decided to hike out to the hills south of Warren Hall at Garin Dry Creek Regional Park, a short 1.5 mile hike to where we wanted to set up.  The implosion was schedule for 9:00 a.m. so we woke up early, got the kids ready and headed out to Garin Dry Creek at 20 minute drive.  Garin Dry Creek is a very family friendly park for hikers, so far in the past year we have visited this park five times with our toddlers!

Our toddlers were terribly cranky that morning and everything was a struggle...getting out the door to hiking this very easy hike.  My three year old son has done more difficult hikes than this 1.5 mile hike but he was just not a happy hiker that morning.  My daughter also wanted in and out privileges from her carrier and she was not happy that we did not grant her those privileges.  I was a little worried that we were going to miss the implosion because we only had one hour to make this 1.5 mile hike.  I know that sounds ridiculously slow but if you have ever hiked with toddlers one mile an hour is usually a normal pace.

All the hikers, mountain bikers and photographers that we encountered on the trail had the same idea to go up on the hills behind Warren Hall so there was a steady flow of people around us.  We started our hike on Old Homestead Trail (0.25 miles) to Peak Loop Trail (0.8 mile).  As we arrived to the intersection of Peak Loop and Vista Peak, we saw all the spectators on the hills ready with their camera and I saw top floors of Warren Hall.  As we turned up a slight hill we heard the implosions go off and down came Warren Hall...I was a little irritated that we weren't situated to take pictures but I did see the building go down with my own eyes.

Thankfully, I had a Google+ friend 

+Paul McWilliams

 who was stationed down at a parking lot on Mission Blvd and he was able to take the moving picture above.  My kids were a little scared when they heard the implosion but they soon calmed down and made it up the hill so we could see the smoke disappear.  We talked to other bystanders, saw a rancher and his daughter ride by us on a horse and once everyone had left we decided to get closer to see the wreckage.

We continued back on Peak Loop Trail for another 0.44 miles when we realized that the hill in the distance were we saw a lot of spectators was actually not in Garin Dry Creek but on CSUEB property.  It seemed like it was an impromptu trail and we thought about crossing the little valley to get to it but decided against it.  We weren't planning on doing an actual hike but we ended up hiking in a new section of Garin Dry Creek that we've never been too, Ziele Creek Trail!

Beautifully Red Poison Oak ~ Ziele Creek Trail

I don't know how many times I can say this, but Garin Dry Creek is a very family/toddler friendly park difficulty wise, except for all the poison oak around the shaded Ziele Creek area.  If your child understands what poison oak is then great, but my son does not under completely understand what it is.  He's starting to understand not to touch it because it can hurt him.  He actually grabbed a whole branch but didn't get a rash. On the other hand, my husband who barely brushed some poison oak had to deal with rashes for almost two weeks.

We actually got a little turned around as well as some other hikers across the creek due to the fallen leaves on the trail which made it disappear...technically we weren't lost but I can see how easily you can lose the trail.  I guided the hikers across the creek to the trail and then we found the actual trail which was a little bit above us on the hill.  Back on the trail we continued trucking along Ziele Creek Trail and eventually found a dead deer carcass in the semi dried up creek.

In our

first hike at Garin Dry Creek

, we saw a large buck in the distance and I've heard of mountain lion sightings at Garin Dry Creek, so I know there is lots of animal activity in this park surrounded by urbanization.  All along Ziele Creek we found animal bones (well I hope it was animal bones) so it was quite surprising to find a whole small deer carcass that looked almost like it recently was alive, that nature for you.

.

We eventually emerged from the shady Ziele Creek Trail (1.13 miles) and headed on a familiar trails, Peak Loop and Old Homestead Trail for another mile or so.  My son hiked the entire 4.4 mile trek and my daughter was carried so we actually hiked much faster than we normally do.  My son can hike about five miles when there's hardly any elevation change but my daughter is not so much a hiker yet.  She's a lover of dirt, the first step of becoming a hiker!

Trip Report: Garin Dry Creek Regional Park

Who: Family - Two Adults and two toddlers

Mileage: 4.4 miles

Elevation Change: 1,031 ft

Family Friendly: Moderate

An implosion hike was a great way to see Warren Hall go down and spend our Saturday morning with our kids.  Just for fun here's a

close up NBC's video

of Warren Hall's last stand!  Thanks for the memories Warren Hall and for giving us one more family memory to add to our list!

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Related Posts and Links:

  1. Not a Moment to Lose - Paul McWilliams
  2. Garin Dry Creek Regional Park
  3. A Chilly Hike at Garin Regional Park
  4. New Year's Day Hike: Garin Dry Creek
  5. WATCH: Cal State East Bay's Warren Hall Imploded
  6. California State University East Bay, Hayward
  7. East Bay Regional Park District - Garin Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park

The Grand Hiking Views at Grand View Park San Francisco - Guest Post for Mommy Hiker

Living in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, I always try to find an excuse to go into the city of San Francisco.  Whether to visit family, friends or just a to visit my husband on his lunch break, I'm always willing to visit the "City by the Bay."  A part of me desires to live in "The City", another part of me loves the suburb life, and another part loves the solitude of "The Outdoors".  I've been able to find a happy medium with our "Urban Hikes" in and out of San Francisco area.

My family and I decided to start our Labor Day weekend with a hike up to Grand View Park, which is in the Sunset District of San Francisco, the west side of the city and south of Golden Gate Park.  It's a 1-acre park that has fantastic 360 degree views of San Francisco and beyond, if there's no fog!  We lucked out on arrived on a perfect clear afternoon.

Click here to read the entire article on Mommy Hiker's awesome blog!