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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

July 3 , 2008

Urban Outings : Acalanes Ridge

People tend to think of Walnut Creek as a residential town with lots of shopping, but it also has beautiful trails and open spaces to explore. This walk takes you up to Acalanes Ridge Open Space via the Briones to Mount Diablo Regional Trail. Once at the ridge top, which runs northwest to southeast, you can look down at sweeping views of Mount Diablo, the Carquinez Strait, the Sacramento River and even the delta. You can also cool off in woodlands of native oaks. Bird-watchers may spy hawks, owls, jays, woodpeckers, juncos, robins, phoebes and waxwings.

Wildlife: Pick up the trail behind the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Larkey Park at 1931 First Ave. (The museum includes a hospital and rehabilitation center for injured wild animals and is a great place to visit, especially with kids, though it's not free. Check the schedule before you visit ( www.wildlife-museum.org).)

After you cross Second Avenue, you will see the trail sign, and looking up, you'll see Acalanes Ridge rising in front. Although the climb looks daunting, you will be walking through a cool woodland for part of the time. Continue uphill, following the signs until coming to a gate with a sign that reads: "Welcome to Walnut Creek Open Space." You are now on Acalanes Ridge. Continue on until you come to another Briones to Mount Diablo trail marker. At this marker, you will see a confusing crisscross of unmarked trails. If you remember that you'll be walking along a ridge top with orienting views on each side, you can't get (too) lost. To take the ridge-top trail with its spectacular views, turn right onto the most uphill of the trails and follow the top of the ridge for your reward.

What you'll find: Once on the ridge, to the east you'll see an expansive view, including Mount Diablo, Walnut Creek and Shell Ridge and Lime Ridge open spaces. To the west is Briones Park. You are at an elevation of 750 feet.

When you get to the Green Valley/Monarch Ridge entrance kiosk, turn around. Stay high on the ridge-top trail, but this time take the path that skirts the actual ridgetop to enjoy an oak woodland. Continue until you reach the Briones to Mount Diablo trail sign again. But don't go back down yet. Instead, continue straight through on the Sousa Trail, which forks into uphill and downhill choices that rejoin later on. To your left you can see the oil refineries at Martinez as well as a view of downtown Concord.

You will come to a gate that exits into an East Bay Municipal Utility District area with huge Larkey Reservoir to your left. Here is a most welcome water fountain and a good place for a rest. Continue down the paved EBMUD access road until you come to a break in the fence on the right. This is the continuation of the Sousa Trail, which crosses over a picturesque wooden bridge with a lively creek passing underneath. The open space has now become a thick woodland of California buckeye and native oaks. Stay on the trail to avoid the abundant poison oak. When you get to the Sousa Gate, take in the view of downtown Walnut Creek.

Now return to the Briones to Mount Diablo trail and back to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

You can view a trail map of the Acalanes Ridge Open Space at links.sfgate.com/ZDZL. But the lines on the map do not really conform to what you see when you are walking. Only the Briones to Mount Diablo trail has trail markers.

Getting there: Bus transportation is available on weekdays only. Take BART to Walnut Creek. Then take the County Connection No. 102 to the corner of Buena Vista and First Avenue. Walk around the corner to First Avenue and you will see the trailhead sign for the Briones to Mount Diablo Regional Trail.

By car, take Highway 680 and exit at Treat Blvd./Geary Road. Drive west on Geary Road and turn left on Buena Vista and then right on First Avenue to the museum.

If you want to begin your walk on the ridge top and skip the uphill trek on the Briones to Mount Diablo trail, you can drive to the Green Valley/Monarch Ridge Gate. Take Highway 24 to the Pleasant Hill exit and go north on Pleasant Hill Road. Turn right at Green Valley Road and continue until just past the Monarch Road/Beacon Ridge intersection. You will see the entrance gate on your right. Park in the visitors' parking lot to the left.

Urban Outings is presented by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's advocate for open spaces and vibrant places, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To suggest an Urban Outing, contact Gail Todd, tour leader for S.F. City Guides and author of "Lunchtime Walks in Downtown San Francisco." For more Urban Outings as well as Greenbelt Outings, visit www.greenbelt.org/outings.

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