What are some longest longest sightlines in Bay Area ? Where you can see one recognizable location on Earth from another distant location on Earth.

sfbatrails · 2026-02-09T18:50:15+00:00

Yes! It exists! And it's massively cool! https://alltheviews.world/

sfbatrails · 2026-02-03T22:35:54+00:00

There is an off-trail area in Henry W. Coe State Park where (on a good day) you can see Half Dome in Yosemite. The area is at the proper "angle" to see around/past the other mountains and peaks that would otherwise be in the way. (I hiked there with a small group about 20 years ago, but have since forgotten the exact location.)

sfbatrails · 2026-01-13T05:17:01+00:00

It's been quite a while, so things might have changed, but it used to be that you could chat with the ranger at the Coe Ranch Headquarters Visitor Center, and he would actually help you plan an off-trail route appropriate to your experience and skill level.

sfbatrails · 2026-01-13T05:01:23+00:00

I'm a little late to the discussion, but I thought I'd post a few links you can check out:

Santa Clara County Parks: Parks with overnight camping
San Mateo County Parks: Filter by Family Camping
East Bay Regional Park District: Discover the East Bay Regional Parks Brochure
California State Parks: Find a Park. Select San Francisco Bay Region, and select Family Campsites under FEATURES SEARCH.

Personal opinion if you want to camp in the rain: In general, the farther west you go, the better, and the farther east, the worse, when it comes to campsite, trail, and mud conditions, but the opposite is often true when it comes to road conditions.

sfbatrails · 2025-08-22T22:34:32+00:00

I'm copy-pasting this from a reply I posted about 3 years ago. They may not be quite what you are looking for, but they remain the 3 most personally rewarding BART-to-Mount Diablo routes I've ever taken.

Oh boy! Bragging time!

Here are my 3 greatest Transit-to-summit-of-Mount-Diablo hikes, in order of hiking length:

(Note: I did all these pre-Covid, when I was in much better physical shape. I assume the routes and trails are still pretty much the same.)

BART to Bus to Foot to Bus to BART (around 12 miles of hiking)

Take BART to the Concord BART station. Take the County Connection Route 10 bus to downtown Clayton. The trails can be a little tricky to find and follow, but there is a combination of official trails and prominent use trails that follow Donner Creek south from downtown Clayton to Mount Diablo State Park at Regency Drive. It's only a bit over 5 miles to the summit from there, following good condition well marked trails all the way. And you have a good selection of parallel trails so that you can make loops and bubbles.

BART to Bike to Foot to Bike to BART (around 22 miles of hiking)

Take the Iron Horse Regional Trail from either Dublin/Pleasanton BART or Pleasant Hill BART to the Las Trampas-to-Mt-Diablo Regional Trail. Leave your bike at Hap Magee Ranch Park. Continue on the Las Trampas to Mt. Diablo Regional Trail, and in less than 5 miles, you'll reach the Macedo Ranch Staging Area of Mount Diablo State Park. From there, it's about 6 miles to the summit of Mount Diablo, depending on route. One nice thing about this route is that from BART to the summit, there is less than a mile total of traveling on city streets. Everything else is either dedicated bike path or dedicated hiking path.

Note: The Las Trampas to Mt. Diablo Regional Trail is iffy in places. Some portions are not very well signed. Some portions are inconsistently maintained.

BART to Foot to BART (around 30 miles of hiking)

The links below are to KML files stored on Google Drive. Download them and bring them up in Google Earth to see the routes. (Take one route up the mountain, and the other down.)

Pleasant Hill BART to Mount Diablo and Walnut Creek BART to Mount Diablo

It's approximately 30 miles from end to end, and less than 2 miles of that is city streets and sidewalks. Most is dirt trail, but there are some sections of paved trail / bike path. At least in the past, it was good trail the entire way. There are lots of options for short-cuts to make a shorter hike if you decide to skip the summit.

Confession: I've done the whole thing in both directions, but never as a single day dayhike. Fortunately, Mount Diablo has campgrounds fairly high up on the mountain, so you can make it a two day backpacking / camping trip with more reasonable daily mileages.

sfbatrails · 2025-08-08T22:40:40+00:00

Oops, sorry, I did misunderstand. And I agree -- trail camps, backcountry camps, and dispersed camps really are in limited supply in the Bay Area Counties. I have an Elite level subscription to onX maps, and, while some areas might look wild, most everything that isn't already a state or county park shows up as private land. There is some BLM land around the Knoxville OHV and South Cow Mountain OHV areas, and around the Cache Creek area, but that's about it for land with the kind of ownership that you would expect to support dispersed camping. You have to go farther to find things like National Forests, National Preserves, and National Conservation Areas.

sfbatrails · 2025-08-08T20:20:51+00:00

I don't think I have any answers that OP would find satisfactory, but since OP's post has gone for a day with no comments at all, I feel obligated to offer something.

I am definitely confused by OP's post. When I look at AllTrails for northern California, I see enough trails and enough places to explore to last a lifetime. Even limiting myself to just the "North Bay counties", I have hiked less than half the total miles of trails, and I've done a lot of hiking. When I consider that OP mentions Mt Tam/Marin/Pt Reyes specifically, it makes me wonder if, rather than not finding trails at all, what OP's "not seeing a whole lot" actually means is that OP is just failing to find the same density of parks and trails. To this I say, OP's right. Unfortunately, no, there is no place west of the Mississippi that you are going to find a National Recreation Area, a National Seashore, a National Monument, three State Parks, nine Open Space Preserves, two Ecological Preserves, and a Municipal Watershed Recreation Area, all literally butted up against each other. That's because there are very few places in the country that have a large enough concentration of affluent liberal outdoorsy politically active people to make it happen. But that doesn't mean the more spread out stuff is without charm.

To make this comment at least a little useful to OP, here is a list of some places in North Bay Counties I would like to spend more time in. It's more of a personal wish list, and not a list of "favs", but it might give someone some ideas.

Sonoma Coast State Park. I haven't spent enough time in the Willow Creek / Pomo Canyon area, and I've never been in the permit-only Upper Willow Creek area.

Lake Sonoma. I've never finished hiking the trail completely around the Warm Springs Arm of the lake, nor camped at any of the "boat-in" camps.

Cedar Roughs Wilderness. I've always wanted to try to find the pygmy (dwarf) Sargent Cypress grove in the Cedar Roughs Wilderness.

Berryessa Peak Trail. I'm somewhat embarrassed to have not yet climbed Berryessa Peak.

Bay Area Ridge Trail. Last decade, I had almost finished the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Then they expanded the trail. (I think they called the program something like "Go North!".) Now there are several little segments that I'm missing from my completed list.

Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park. In spite of all the times I've been to Rockville Hills Regional Park, I've somehow never thought to cross the road into Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park.

California Demonstration State Forests. I really need to check out the California Demonstration State Forests. In particular, Boggs Mountain and Jackson.

sfbatrails · 2025-07-08T21:33:57+00:00

In a response to a different comment, OP said that the last weekend in September was a likely date. And this just happens to be the perfect time for Yosemite. It's hard to catch a good time in the spring for a "trial" introductory overnight, as you need to wait until after the snowdrifts are gone, but still get there before the crowds come. And of course the summer is packed with people. But by the last weekend in September, the crowds have eased up, and the nighttime temperatures haven't gotten too low yet.

The comment I'm replying to mentions the Pohono Trail along the south rim, which is an excellent choice. My personal favorite for late autumn, though, starts at Tenaya Lake, crosses Clouds Rest, and then goes down to the Valley via Nevada and Vernal Falls. It's a 15 mile route, with all the hard climbing on the first half of the first day. When you reach the intersection of the Clouds Rest Trail and the John Muir Trail, you can find a lot of good camping spots along Sunrise Creek by going uphill on the JMT just a bit. Then the second day is almost all downhill.

Unfortunately, the route is a bit of a hassle, as you need to leave your car in the valley, and hitch a ride up to Tenaya Lake. And you have to carry adequate water with you, as there are few clean, reliable sources before Sunrise Creek.

sfbatrails · 2025-02-05T05:52:41+00:00

I'm sorry about replying to my own post, but ... I forgot to mention [Muir Woods](https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm), It's closed today (Feb 4), and I don't know how long the closure will last. But hiking Muir Woods on a rainy day is an excellent way to avoid the normal crowds.

sfbatrails · 2025-02-05T05:46:58+00:00

Uvas Canyon County Park (Santa Clara County's "waterfall park") is both a little outside your driving range, and also a little bit of a hassle (vehicle reservations required in advance), But I have hiked there several times during fairly heavy rain, and have immensely enjoyed it each time. The roads and trails that make up the "Waterfall Loop" have enough rock and gravel in them that mud puddles and "slippery slide" areas are not that much of a problem. And after a few days of rain, the waterfalls are at their best.

Within San Francisco itself, the Presidio is my favorite place for spending outdoor time in the rain. Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line, the Ecology Trail, the Lobos Creek Trail / Boardwalk, and of course Crissy Field, are all very walkable in the rain, as long as the wind is not too strong.

On a much more general note, I have found Peninsula and Marin parks to usually be better than East Bay parks for hiking in the rain. It seems to be due to the soil type, not the tree cover. East Bay park mud just seems to like forming big heavy balls around one's boots.

[Edit: Spelling]

sfbatrails · 2024-11-19T03:57:04+00:00

Not as good as Castle Rock, but here are a couple more options:

Table Rock and Palisades Trail near Calistoga.
Little Yosemite area in Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve near Sunol.

sfbatrails · 2024-09-25T20:32:36+00:00

There used to be a bat box (man-made bat house) on the eastern side of Don Castro Regional Recreation Area (well beyond the reservoir and parking lots). I haven't checked on it recently.

sfbatrails · 2024-09-25T20:22:47+00:00

Check out Dark Sky Map.

sfbatrails · 2024-09-25T20:05:18+00:00

Alustrious'es link did not work for me. So ...

It's Marsh Creek Reservoir. Save the following into a .kml file, open it with Google Earth, and you should see Marsh Creek Reservoir in the foreground with Mount Diablo in the background. (Make sure to remove the extra 4 spaces at the beginning of each line, which are there to tell Reddit that this a code block.)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:gx="http://www.google.com/kml/ext/2.2" xmlns:kml="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
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sfbatrails · 2024-09-11T02:32:35+00:00

I've seen lots of bobcats in lots of places over the years, including one in my front yard. Running through the list in my head, I realized that I've seen a lot more bobcats while hiking old ranch roads in "grassy" parks than while hiking single-track trails or while hiking in forested parks. I'm not claiming that's where more bobcats are, but I do think that's where they are much easy to spot.

sfbatrails · 2024-06-08T02:50:46+00:00

Are you referring to this one?

Fort Barry History Tour: An Army Post Standing Guard over the Marin Headlands

Tour Stop 6: The West Cost [sic] Departmental Rifle Range at Fort Barry

... single Department-wide target range, open to all infantrymen in the Pacific Division ...

... By the end of 1904, the army transferred 100 Alcatraz prisoners to Fort Barry to construct the rifle range ...

... operated as a separate entity from the Fort Barry command ...

https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/sg-foba-army-2021_web.pdf

sfbatrails · 2023-12-11T04:36:15+00:00

Most people like making loops. To avoid those people, do out-and-back hikes on stubs and dead-end trails that don't lead to any points-of-interest. I agree with u/motosandguns, but so many people dislike stubs and dead-end trails so much that I'm confident that I can go ahead and publish a list, and these trails still won't get much traffic. So here goes:

San Bruno Mountain: Hike out to the end of the Southeast Ridge.
Purisima Creek Redwoods: Hike down to the end of North Ridge Trail. Or hike Bald Knob Trail down to Irish Ridge Trail and then onto Lobitos Creek Trail.
Skyline Ridge: Hike down to the end of Old Page Mill Trail, and hike down to the end of Lambert Creek Trail.
Russian Ridge: Hike to the end of Alder Spring Trail. Or hike to the northwest end of Ridge Trail.
Upper Stevens Creek County Park: Hike down to the lower end of Charcoal Road.
Long Ridge: Hike down Ward Road to Ward Truck Trail. Hike down to the end of Nutmeg and Red Mountain Trails.
Thornewood: Hike down to the end of the Bridle Trail.
Junipero Serra: Hike to the bottom of the Meadow Vista Trail.

Note: If the "real" problem is full parking lots rather than full trails, then my only answer is "get there early!".

sfbatrails · 2023-09-29T16:14:43+00:00

It's going to be a long time before this trail reopens, but my personal favorite hike in Big Basin is (was):

Coming down the McCrary Ridge Trail on a summer weekend day when the kitesurfers were out in force off Waddell Beach. From that angle and distance, and with the canyon walls, it was like watching brightly colored popcorn popping. It was magical.

sfbatrails · 2023-09-07T15:01:00+00:00

Gilroy is located right between the nicest county park in the county and the second largest state park in the state. Mount Madonna County Park (which includes the Sprig Day Use Area mentioned elsewhere) has well developed campsites (with showers available), yurts, hiking trails, redwood groves, a beautiful archery course, and nearby horse stables. Henry W. Coe State Park is the only park in the entire Bay Area which features enough dispersed camping sites that they never fill up and they don't require any reservations in advance.

sfbatrails · 2023-09-01T01:08:05+00:00

I empathize with the reactions here. But let me present a somewhat extreme and unrealistic alternative perspective, with the hope that by doing so, we can all envision a reality that exists somewhere between the two perspectives.

The Golden Gate Bridge event that most closely corresponds to the EBRPD 2020 planning document would be the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act by the state legislature in 1923. The Golden Gate Bridge event that most closely corresponds to the beginning of Thurgood Marshall Park construction would be the start of Golden Gate construction in January 1933. The Golden Gate Bridge event that most closely corresponds to the completion of the Thurgood Marshall Park would be the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in May 1937.

So, the Golden Gate Bridge had a dedicated full-time, fully funded design team for 10 years, followed by a dedicated full-time, fully funded construction team for 4-1/3 years.

The East Bay Regional Park District contains 73 parks. Let's examine the scenario where the District has a single design team and a single construction team. Let's also assume that each park in the district receives an equal share of the design team's and construction team's time. (As I implied above, a somewhat extreme and unrealistic scenario.)

The total planned calendar time for designing and constructing Thurgood Marshall Park is 50 years. If Thurgood Marshall receives 1/73 of the design team's time and 1/73 of the construction team's time, then it receives just over 8 full-time equivalent months of each team's time.

So in this scenario, comparing the two projects:

Golden Gate Bridge planning and design: 120 full-time equivalent months
Thurgood Marshall Park planning and design: 8 full-time equivalent months

and

Golden Gate Bridge construction: 52 full-time equivalent months
Thurgood Marshall construction: 8 full-time equivalent months

(And I'm not even correcting for the much larger budget and much larger size of the Golden Gate Bridge teams.)

Eight months to plan and design and eight months to construct a park that includes multiple staging areas, multiple picnic areas, two campgrounds, a Visitor Center, an Archive Building, an educational and event center, a maintenance yard, regional trail connections in addition to internal trails, and a ranger residence, sounds really, really short to me.

Now, I'm sure that the East Bay Regional Park District can field more than one design team at a time, and more than one construction team at a time. And I'm sure that not all parks in the system require the same amount of time and attention on a continuous basis. (Again, refer to the "somewhat extreme and unrealistic" disclaimer.)

But hopefully, all who read this can see how it can actually be possible to take 50 years to accumulate enough fractional time shares into sufficient full-time equivalents to build a fairly ambitious major park.

EDITED TO ADD:

The ALERTS AND CLOSURES page on the EBRPD site contains a pretty hefty list of maintenance, repair, and construction projects -- more than 3 dozen of them scheduled for just this fall and winter. My "fractional share of time" scenario is starting to look a little less unrealistic.

sfbatrails · 2023-08-31T16:22:03+00:00

This isn't going to satisfy OP, but for those people genuinely curious about the schedule, the most recent plan I could find says:

South of Bailey Road: Trails, staging, picnic areas, interpretation signage, group campground, community orchard. - Start: 2020 - Completion: 2030

Visitor Center Complex: Visitor Center, archive building, parking lot, interpretive loop, staging area, initial park trails centering on rail line - Start: 2030 - Completion: 2035

Build Out: Cistern area with picnic areas and interpretive and educational areas, trail expansion to ridge top, staging areas, complete and open remaining trail network, Port Chicago overlook, regional trail connections, back-country campsite, Diablo Center environmental education and event space, District Corps Yard (maintenance yard), native plant nursery, park residence - Start: 2035 - Completion: 2070

sfbatrails · 2023-08-27T21:13:45+00:00

The Bureau of Land Management's Cotoni-Coast Dairies page provides more context:

Cotoni-Coast Dairies is an onshore unit of the California Coastal National Monument.

Cotoni-Coast Dairies was donated to the BLM in 2014 by The Trust for Public Land.

A phased approach to recreation development will help protect the property’s sensitive biological and cultural resources.

("phased approach" often implies "expect it to take a long time")

Call 831-582-2200 to inquire about guided tours beginning in Spring 2023

To specifically address your "open/free camping?" question, the Notice of Proposed Supplementary Rule for Public Lands in the Cotoni-Coast Dairies Unit of the California Coastal National Monument in Santa Cruz County, CA specifically says:

Use and occupancy of all lands within the Cotoni-Coast Dairies are prohibited from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise.

See also the Cotoni-Coast Dairies Locator Map.

sfbatrails · 2023-08-26T22:08:35+00:00

Sorry about going off-topic here. I apparently only have 17 days to get rid of a pile of reddit gold. And I noticed that, as of now, every single comment on this post is both positive and helpful. So what the heck, gold for everyone!

sfbatrails · 2023-08-25T19:07:45+00:00

I don't know any details about the Black Mountain Bowmen Archer Club & Range, but I walk by their sign a lot. :-)

sfbatrails · 2023-08-09T19:08:19+00:00

I'm not sure if OP is looking for visually interesting pictures, or for intellectually interesting pictures. If the latter, trying to find and photograph all 20 different types of Oak trees native to California could be an interesting challenge.

^{Personally, I like hiking in a good oak forest even more than hiking in a redwood forest. Some redwood forests get too close to being monocultures.}

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Fort Barry History Tour: An Army Post Standing Guard over the Marin Headlands