| Walnut Creek Open Space | |
|---|---|
 View of Old Borges Ranch | |
| Location | Walnut Creek, California |
| Website | https://www.walnut-creek.org/departments/open-space |
Walnut Creek Open Space is a collection of parks and land owned by the city of Walnut Creek. It consists of four main areas: Shell Ridge, Lime Ridge, Acalanes Ridge, and Sugarloaf.
In the early 1970s, further Walnut Creek housing developments were proposed in the Mount Diablo foothills. Local activists worked with Walnut Creek City Council to get a bond measure for the city to purchase and preserve land put on the ballot of the June 1974 election, which voters approved. [1] [2]
These areas are part of Walnut Creek Open Space: [3]
Shell Ridge is 1,420 acres and has 31 miles of trails. [3] It is the largest parcel of Walnut Creek Open Space, and features the ridge, foothills, and rock outcroppings. It is connected to Mount Diablo State Park via the Briones-Mount Diablo Trail, and shares borders with the Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area. [4]
Included in Shell Ridge are:
Lime Ridge is 1,226 acres and has 25 miles of trails. [3] It is situated between Walnut Creek and Concord, adjacent to Mount Diablo State Park. Limestone was quarried at this site from 1905 to 1946. Botanist Mary Bowerman found Mount Diablo buckwheat at this location. [5]
Acalanes Ridge is 201 acres and has 4 miles of trails. [3] Its peak is the site of large concrete arrows once used by the Transcontinental Airway System. [6]
Sugarloaf is 177 acres and has 3 miles of trails. [3] It includes a ridge-top trail, black walnut grove, picnic area, bathrooms, ranger station. [7]
The Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation is a nonprofit organization tasked with restoring and maintaining the open space land. Projects have included planting native oak trees and native grasses, and restoring California quail habitat. [8]
Contra Costa County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,165,927. The county seat is Martinez. It occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is primarily suburban. The county's name refers to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Alamo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. It is a suburb located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, approximately 28 miles (45 km) east of San Francisco. Alamo is equidistant from the city of Walnut Creek and the incorporated town of Danville. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,314.
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 16 miles east of the city of Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, is located at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose (I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland (SR-24), and is accessible by BART. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, and Concord.
The Santa Cruz Mountains are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast Ranges. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continue south to the Central Coast, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley. The range passes through the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, with the Pajaro River forming the southern boundary.
Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of 3,849 feet, visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mount Diablo appears from many angles to be a double pyramid and has many subsidiary peaks. The largest and closest is North Peak, the other half of the double pyramid, which is nearly as high in elevation at 3,557 feet (1,084 m), and is about one mile northeast of the main summit.
The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which is the largest urban regional park district in the United States. The administrative office is located in Oakland.
Chino Hills State Park is a state park of California, in the United States. It is located in the Chino Hills, foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. It is a critical link in the Chino–Puente Hills wildlife corridor, and a major botanical habitat reserve for resident and migrating wildlife.
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal trailheads are the Delmarva Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the northern California coast on the Pacific Ocean. The trail has northern and southern alternates for part of its distance, passing through Chicago and St. Louis respectively. The total length of the trail, including both the north and south routes, is 6,800 miles (10,900 km). The northern route covers 4,834 miles (7,780 km) with the southern route covering 5,057 miles (8,138 km). It is the only non-motorized coast-to-coast trail.
Henry W. Coe State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving a vast tract of the Diablo Range. The park is located closest to the city of Morgan Hill, and is located in both Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties. The park contains over 87,000 acres (35,000 ha), making it the largest state park in northern California, and the second-largest in the state. Managed within its boundaries is a designated wilderness area of about 22,000 acres (8,900 ha). This is officially known as the Henry W. Coe State Wilderness, but locally as the Orestimba Wilderness. The 89,164-acre (36,083 ha) park was established in 1959.
Windy Hill Open Space Preserve is a regional park located in San Mateo County, California and operated by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). It is readily identifiable from the flatlands of the South Bay, as it is the only "naked" part of the peninsula range.
Morgan Territory is an historic ranching area on the east side of Mount Diablo in San Francisco East Bay's Contra Costa County. It was named after Anglo-American pioneer Jeremiah Morgan, a migrant from Alabama and Iowa who acquired 2000 acres and developed a ranch here, starting in 1857.
Mount Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) is a public school district in Contra Costa County, California. It currently operates 29 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, and 5 high schools, with 7 alternative school programs and an adult education program. MDUSD is one of the largest school districts in the state of California, with over 56 school sites and a budget of approximately $270,000,000. The district has over 36,000 K-12 students, over 20,000 adult education students, and over 3,500 employees, including over 2,000 certificated educators. The district covers 150 square miles (390 km2), including the cities of Concord and Clayton; as well as most of Pleasant Hill and portions of Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Lafayette, and Martinez; and unincorporated areas, including Pacheco, Clyde, and Bay Point.
Briones Regional Park is a 6,117-acre (24.75 km2) regional park in the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) system, located in the Briones Hills of central Contra Costa County of the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area is a 18,000 acres (73 km2) regional park of the East Bay Regional Park District. It is located in Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of northern California.
Diablo Foothills Regional Park is a 1,060 acres (4.3 km2) regional park of the East Bay Regional Park District. It is located in Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of northern California.
Morgan Territory Regional Preserve is a regional park in Contra Costa County, California. Located east of Clayton and north of Livermore, California, bordering on Mt. Diablo State Park, it is part of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The preserve was founded in 1975 with fewer than 1,000 acres (400 ha), but EBRPD has gradually acquired more property, and, since 2015, the preserve encompasses 5,230 acres (2,120 ha). The main access roads run from Livermore and Clayton.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a state park in Northern California, United States. Located in the Mayacamas Mountains north of Kenwood, the park straddles the boundary between Sonoma and Napa counties. The park contains the 2,729-foot (832 m) Bald Mountain and the headwaters of Sonoma Creek including a 25-foot (8 m) tall seasonal waterfall. The park is also home to the volunteer-run Robert Ferguson Observatory. Camping, picnicking, horseback riding, mountain biking, stargazing, fishing and hiking are common attractions of Sugarloaf. The park boasts 25 miles of trails with trails ranging from less than a mile to 8.8 miles, and elevation gains reaching 2,500 feet.
The Old Borges Ranch is a 1,035 acres (419 ha) historic district in the Mt. Diablo foothills within the 2,600-acre (1,100 ha) Walnut Creek Open Space in Contra Costa County, California. A former cattle ranch, Old Borges Ranch includes multiple historic buildings, a ranger station, farm animals, and access to trails.
Dublin Hills Regional Park covers 654 acres (2,650,000 m2) in Alameda County, California, United States, west of the city of Dublin. It is part of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The park is accessible from the Donlon Hill Staging Area, which is on Dublin Boulevard near Dublin, California.