Lots of open hills and sunshine makes Briones Regional Park worth checking out in the springtime. I’ve heard tell of massive California poppy blooms here in years past.
I’ve driven around Briones once but haven’t gotten around to hiking it just yet. Here’s a map of all the parking areas near major trail heads.
View Briones Regional Park in a larger map
At Bear Creek on the west end, you’ll start out at the bottom and hike up. The trailheads on the northeast side start out high on a ridge, if I recall.
Here’s a Flickr slide show from Briones:
More Briones links:
- Bay Area Hiker goes to Bear Creek Staging Area.
- East Bay Regional Park District page.
- Reviews on Yelp.
- KQED’s Quest explores Briones.
- Springtime hike at Everytrail.com
- John Soares’ February hike of the month.
Nature Lovers! You will adore Briones and find it a unique experience. You may want to check out my blog posting (shameless plug for Gambolin’ Man!) to get a sense of what to expect. Also, if possible – DO NOT OVERLOOK the nearby Briones Reservoir (need a permit) – well worth the effort to enjoy lakeside views and tremendous wildlife and wildflower shows!
Tom, when you planning on going there?
http://gambolinman.blogspot.com/2007/01/briones-regional-park-and-reservoir.html
Maybe this Sunday, while the idea’s still fresh in my brain.
Let’s keep in touch – maybe we can meet!
My favorite trailhead is on the Reliez Vly Rd side , the east. Very nice, and it provides a different perspective from the Bear Creek side. And if you wish, you can hike from Briones to Mt. Diablo to Morgan Territory to Round Valley or Los Vaqueros…..more regional trails!!!!!
Have a great time Tom. I love that Flickr slide show–may have to borrow that idea!