Hikes in the East Bay
- Cesar Chavez park (Berkeley Marina, 30min hike), stunning at sunset, great walks
- Fire Trail (Berkeley), entrance a little before Botanical garden (3h hike)
- Tilden Park (Berkeley hills): wild cat canyon hike, inspiration point (1h20 hike)
- Lake Anza (Berkeley hills): 30 min hike; It is gorgeous, and a place of quiet; excellent if you want to bring a book
- Huckleberry preserve (Berkeley/Oakland skyline boulevard, 1h hike)
- Mountain View cemetery (Oakland, 1h): great views of the bay, solemn setting but not spooky.
- Pinole Point (Richmond, 1h30 hike), wonderful at sunset
- Redwood regional park (1–2 hours) many trails, very varied landscapes
- Pinehurst East Ridge (start from Pinehurst Staging area – map)
- Briones Crest trail loop (Orinda, 4 hours, or Lafayette Ridge staging area is open. It’s a very long hike, and portions can be steep. Plan at least 3h!)
- Mt Diablo (Walnut Creek): stunning view of the highest peak in the Bay
- Angel island (daylong hike, you need to take the ferry from Tiburon) might be closed
Hikes in the greater Bay Area
You’ll need to drive a littlemore, but these are splendid hikes:
- Mt Tamalpais (Marin county, 1h30): beautiful hikes to the top.
- Cataract Falls (one of the best hikes, map, on the dipsea trail, seems closed too)
- Dipsea trail (from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, 4h. beware: it seems closed, because it is too popular)
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Pt. Reyes & Pt. Reyes Lighthouse (seems closed)Tomales Bay State Park and Tomales Point (seems closed)
- Russian River (usually you can rent canoes from late May to October, to go down the 10 mile stretch from Forestville to Gerneville. Maybe they’ll open. I LOVE this one. In the meantime, you may be able to enjoy wading in the river in a few locations; the drive is also quite nice)
- Bodega Bay Trailhead (1h from Berkeley, gorgeous sights of the ocean. A fav!)
- Mount St Helena (North of Napa, map, it seems closed for the time being:-/)
- Half Moon Bay (South bay, 45min from Berkeley – nice beaches, and the boardwalk is very beautiful. Start from Miramar and head South)
and here’s a few more: Best beginner hikes in the Bay Area!