As of Aug, 29 2024, the park is open, but some trails (Shady Glen [which leads to the Flag Hill trail], Indian Joe, McCorkle) are closed. Update: Indian Joe trail reopened on Aug 30, 2024.

The park was fairly empty on Aug 29, 2024 in the morning. Our favorite jaunt up to Flag Hill was blocked off due to the Shady Glen trail closure, so we did a simple in and out to Little Yosemite. During this course, we were treated to sitings of bobcats, red tailed hawks, scurrying quail and other birds.

The water level in Alameda Creek was low, so Little Yosemite was mostly dry at this time.

Have you visited recently? What were your experiences?

Related

• EBRP official Sunol Wilderness Regional Park page.
• Sunol Regional Wilderness Flag Hill Trail
• Sunol Regional Wilderness Little Yosemite

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Along the trails to get to Little Yosemite, the nearby Calaveras Dam project is clearly visible. Slated to be completed in Spring 2019, Calaveras is the Hetch Hetchy’s largest reservoir in the Bay Area holding 96,850 acre-feet of water!

Up near the Eagle View trail, the winds picked up and we spotted a couple of American Kestrels fighting the wind while hunting for insects in the grass. American Kestrels, next to the Red Tailed Hawk, are one of the most common raptors. Much smaller than hawks, they’re related to falcons with cool looking eye strips and red-blue feather colorations.

And with the moisture brought by rains, mushrooms spontaneously erupt in the shady spots around fallen trees.

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Ticks don’t seem to be a major concern in the East Bay and in the past 40 years of living here, I have never come across one. However, this experience felt like a scene out of Arachnophobia!

We did about a six mile hike this past Saturday doing a loop in the Sunol Regional Wilderness through the Indian Joe, Eagle View, and Flag Hill trails. Traversing the steep slope of the Eagle View trail, J exclaims “There’s lots of spiders climbing on me!” Upon closer inspection, those spiders were actually ticks!

This section on the Eagle View trail was a bit overgrown with tall grasses on which the ticks were waiting for unsuspecting passersby like ourselves. At any given time, 4-5 ticks could be found on our pants, gradually climbing up in search of bare skin! All in all, be probably had to flick off about 20 ticks each during the traversal!

Clothing Matters

Fortunately for J and I, we foiled the ticks’ plans by wearing hiking pants and long sleeve shirts. Even though shorts can be more comfortable during those super hot and dry East Bay days, one trip through some overgrown thistle can make you glad you wore pants. And added protection from those surprise ticks doesn’t hurt either.

Tips

• NPR Page on what to do if you’ve been bitten by a tick
• TickEncounter page for submitting tick pictures and identifying the tick
• Wear long pants and long socks!

Update

Got this response from TickEncounter who identified the tick as an American dog tick. Snipped for brevity:

…

FYI, American dog ticks do not transmit Lyme disease but can transmit the germ causing Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). Studies have shown that American dog ticks can transmit an infectious dose of the RMSF rickettsia as well as other less dangerous rickettsiae in as little as 12 hours of attachment. The chance for disease from a bite by this type of tick is typically low as the tick infection rate in American dog ticks is generally less than 1% in your area, but if this tick is  the chance for disease would likely be low due to the shorter duration of feeding.

…

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See our Little Yosemite, Flag Hill, and Eagle View Trail posts for some of the our regular hikes!

View

Flowers

The post First Visit to Sunol Regional Wilderness This Year appeared first on East Bay Wild!.

Length: 2.7 mi
Time: 1.5 hr
Difficulty: Easy

Facilities: Visitors Center and vault toilets.
Hours: 8AM-5PM (winter) 8AM-7PM (and later depending on month)
Dogs: $2 fee.
Parking: $5 per vehicle
More Info: East Bay Parks Website
The site says there’s no drinking water, but they often serve water out of drinking jugs near the visitor’s center.

Seasonal Note: Like many East Bay parks, Sunol Wilderness can be extremely hot and exposed during the summer.  The longer hikes are best avoided during this time of year. Spring is the best time, offering wild flowers, flowing creeks, and milder temperatures.

Getting There

Access the park via 680. From the South bay, take 680N to Calaveras/84-W off ramp and make a right onto Calaveras Road.

From the northern bay areas, take 680S to the Calaveras Road/84 Dumbarton Bridge exit. Make a left onto Calaveras Road. Note that the preceding exit is labeled “Sunol” and is not the correct exit.

Stay on Calaveras Road for 4.3 mi. Along the way, you’ll come across a couple of plant nurseries, a construction aggregates facility,and a water treatment plant along the southern side of the road. The road is also popular with bicyclists.

At approximately 4.3 mi, make a left onto Geary Road. At the time of this writing, Calaveras Road is closed beyond Geary road making this turn really hard to miss.

Geary Road will eventually lead to an entrance gate and ranger booth that will provide a park map in exchange for the vehicle entry fee.

Little Yosemite Trail

The most popular destination in the Sunol Regional Wilderness! Come see the the Alameda Creek wind across giant boulders and through the steep granite canyon.

The most direct route is to park at the end of Geary road (past the visitor center and the horse corral) as close to the bathroom as possible. The Camp Ohlone Road starts here, immediately crossing the Alameda creek.

Checkpoint: Bridge

Checkpoint: Little Yosemite

From here, the dirt road follows a gradual incline up to a picnic area with an outhouse. Follow the dirt paths down the creek side to get a better view of the Little Yosemite features.

To return back to the parking lot, you can either follow the road straight back (easiest) or proceed through the picnic area to take the Canyon View Trail to the McCorkle trail. Along the way, you’ll likely glimpse the work being done on the Calaveras Dam replacement project. Calaveras and nearby San Antonio reservoirs are maintained by the SF Water Department and serve as part of the Hetch Hetchy water system.

Checkpoint: McCorkle Trail turn off

Taking the left hand side trail will bring you down McCorkle trail and back to the Ohlone Camp Road. As an alternative, you can also continue along Canyon View trail which will bring you to the visitor’s center area.

Alternatives

Be sure to check out Eagle View or Flag Hill trails in the Sunol Regional Wilderness!

The post Sunol Regional Wilderness – Little Yosemite appeared first on East Bay Wild!.

Length:19mi (to Rose Peak)
Time: 10hrs (to Rose Peak)
Difficulty: Hard (Elevation and Length)
Cost: $2 for a 1yr permit (available at the Sunol Regional Wilderness entry gate, comes with a map)

Facilities: Visitors Center and vault toilets.
Hours: 8AM-5PM (winter) 8AM-7PM (and later depending on month)
Dogs: $2 fee.
Parking: $5 per vehicle
More Info: East Bay Parks Website
The site says there’s no drinking water, but they often serve water out of drinking jugs near the visitor’s center.

Seasonal Note: Like many East Bay parks, Sunol Wilderness can be extremely hot and exposed during the summer.  The longer hikes are best avoided during this time of year. Spring is the best time, offering wild flowers, flowing creeks, and milder temperatures.

Getting There

Access the park via 680. From the South bay, take 680N to Calaveras/84-W off ramp and make a right onto Calaveras Road.

From the northern bay areas, take 680S to the Calaveras Road/84 Dumbarton Bridge exit. Make a left onto Calaveras Road. Note that the preceding exit is labeled “Sunol” and is not the correct exit.

Stay on Calaveras Road for 4.3 mi. Along the way, you’ll come across a couple of plant nurseries, a construction aggregates facility,and a water treatment plant along the southern side of the road. The road is also popular with bicyclists.

At approximately 4.3 mi, make a left onto Geary Road. At the time of this writing, Calaveras Road is closed beyond Geary road making this turn really hard to miss.

Geary Road will eventually lead to an entrance gate and ranger booth that will provide a park map in exchange for the vehicle entry fee.

The Trail

Note: Bring plenty of drinking water or a filter. There are water spigots at camp spots along the way but they only provide untreated water.

The Ohlone Wilderness Trail is a 29.1 mile trail that runs from Mission Peak in Fremont to Del Valle Lake in Livermore. From Sunol, a popular goal is Rose Peak which is the highest peak in Alameda county at 3817 ft (Mission Peak is only a paltry 2516 ft). An alternate day trip on the Ohlone Wilderness Trail is a 12.3 mi. hike that starts from Del Valle Lake to see the Murieta Falls in the spring time.

Unless you’re planning to camp, this trail is strictly an in-out trail. Hike as far out as you desire, taking time to return into consideration.

Start this hike from the horse corral parking area near the visitor’s center where there’s a sign-in sheet for the Ohlone Wilderness Trail located at the information panel. Take the bridge across Alameda Creek and make a right onto the Canyon View trail. Veer left and ascend onto the McCorkle Trail. Follow this trail for about 2.5 mi where you’ll hit the Sunol Backpacking Camp Area.

From here the Ohlone Wilderness trail will bring you up and down through an isolated back country and magnificent landscape.

The post Sunol Regional Wilderness – Ohlone trail to Rose Peak appeared first on East Bay Wild!.

Facilities: Visitors Center and vault toilets.
Hours: 8AM-5PM (winter) 8AM-7PM (and later depending on month)
Dogs: $2 fee.
Parking: $5 per vehicle
More Info: East Bay Parks Website
The site says there’s no drinking water, but they often serve water out of drinking jugs near the visitor’s center.

Seasonal Note: Like many East Bay parks, Sunol Wilderness can be extremely hot and exposed during the summer.  The longer hikes are best avoided during this time of year. Spring is the best time, offering wild flowers, flowing creeks, and milder temperatures.

Highlights

Flag Hill towers above the valley floor offering breathtaking views of the surrounding areas. The trail is steep but quick to reach the peak and has various return route options.

Getting There

Access the park via 680. From the South bay, take 680N to Calaveras/84-W off ramp and make a right onto Calaveras Road.

From the northern bay areas, take 680S to the Calaveras Road/84 Dumbarton Bridge exit. Make a left onto Calaveras Road. Note that the preceding exit is labeled “Sunol” and is not the correct exit.

Stay on Calaveras Road for 4.3 mi. Along the way, you’ll come across a couple of plant nurseries, a construction aggregates facility,and a water treatment plant along the southern side of the road. The road is also popular with bicyclists.

At approximately 4.3 mi, make a left onto Geary Road. At the time of this writing, Calaveras Road is closed beyond Geary road making this turn really hard to miss.

Geary Road will eventually lead to an entrance gate and ranger booth that will provide a park map in exchange for the vehicle entry fee.

The Trail

The rocky cliffs topping Flag Hill are an intimidating sight for anyone attempting this trail. While the climb will keep your quads burning, the trek to the top is short. Before you think you won’t be able to go any further, you’ll find yourself at the top, looking over the grand views over the valley floor.

Start at the visitors center, crossing the Alameda Creek bridge. Proceed left (west) along the Canyon View trail and turn right (north) at the Flag Hill Trail trail sign. The trail will immediately begin ascending, zig-zagging its way up the side of flag hill.

Just before the top, a rocky, narrow section requires a little balance and caution. Once past this, a wide, barely inclined path leads up to the peak.

Checkpoint: The Peak

Checkpoint: The Overlook

Proceed just a few yards past the peak onto the Flag Hill loop trail where you’ll catch better views of the valley below.

Checkpoint: Fossil Rocks

At the top of Flag Hill is Flag Hill Loop Trail. This short but deceptive trail offers more views westward towards the bay and of the MacGuire Peaks. Bear in mind that this loop descends quite a bit before ascending (rather abruptly) back to the top.

Checkpoint: High Valley Camp

The Flag Hill marker designates the intersection of the trail and Flag Hill Road. Take this road north, going away from the valley and descending behind a hillside. After a few switchbacks and a fallen oak tree popular with the squirrels, you’ll come across Hayfield Road and the High Valley camp.

Checkpoint: Indian Joe Turn Off

Hayfield road will continue back to the visitors center. However, if you prefer a more shaded route to return by (recommended), look for a signed intersection on the left hand side about a quarter mile past High Valley camp. The turn off with double back along a hillside before crossing a stream and placing you on the Indian Joe Trail just below the Cave Rocks.

The shade on the Indian Joe Trail makes for a more comfortable return trip and provides for greener surroundings.

Checkpoint: Indian Joe Creek

From here, continue to descend along the Indian Joe Trail where you’ll meet the Canyon View trail and head right (west) back to the visitor’s center.

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