Tag Archives: Old Tunnel Road

Skyline to Tilden

15 May

Length: 4.3 miles. It’s an out and back so you can decide when to turn around.
Time: 1.5-2 hours
Difficulty: Easy to Medium
Dogs: Yes!
Calories: 600-700
Elevation Gain: 700 feet (starts at 1000 feet and climbs to 1600 feet).
Best Season: Any season.  Good summer hike.
EMBUD Permit Required:  No
Highlights:  The first mile is very lush with a wide range of plants and then great views towards Mount Diablo as you climb towards Tilden Park.  Downside is road noise.
Directions:  Take Highway 24 towards Oakland. Exit at Fish Ranch Road (last exit before tunnel).  Take a left at Fish Ranch Road, cross over the highway, and then take a right on Old Tunnel Road.  After about a third of a mile you’ll reach the Old Tunnel Road Staging Area for Sibley Park.  This is where you park.
Trailhead:  Old Tunnel Road will take a sharp turn, and after the turn you’ll see a trail on the right side of the road heading North.  You’ll also see signs pointing to “Skyline to Tilden” which is what you want.

NOTE: Old Tunnel Road has been closed during the stay-at-home orders, so you need to park and walk up Old Tunnel Road to reach the trail, about a third of a mile.

Most people who go to the Old Tunnel Road Staging Area are using it to access Sibley Volcanic Preserve, but for this hike we’re going to head north instead towards Tilden Park. Look for the signs for “Skyline Trail to Tilden Park”.

The Skyline Trail is a 31-mile continuous path that traverses through six of the East Bay’s most historic and picturesque parks and preserves.  It is one of 1200 designated National Recreation Trails in the U.S.  And it is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a planned 550-mile trail along ridgelines ringing the Bay Area.

The first mile of the trail is surprisingly lush.  This is because the Oakland hills capture extra rain and fog and the east side of the hills have less sun and evaporation than the west side.  You’ll be able to hear Highway 24, but try to imagine you’re hearing a waterfall in the distance.

Lush zone during the first mile of trail

During the first half mile or so you’ll notice many Big Leaf Maple trees, which is quite unusual, because they are normally constrained to riparian zones along creeks.  Along with the maples, this unique zone harbors a multitude of herbaceous flowering plants such as wild strawberry, cinquefoil, forget-me-not, cow parsnip, and others.

Cow parsnip next to the trail

After a mile of hiking you’ll reach Fish Ranch Road. After crossing the road and resuming on the other side, you’ll find that you’re now in a dry grassy scrubland.  It’s worth noticing a single Juniper Tree on the right side soon after crossing.

Beginning of grassy scrubland

A short way further you’ll reach a junction and should stay to the right.  And then soon after that you’ll arrive at the bench shown below with a fantastic view out towards Mt. Diablo.

What a view!

The trail continues up the hillside, next to Grizzly Peak Blvd., with a few switchbacks.  On our hike we noticed a couple people working in a gulley between the trail and water tank with scattered coyote brush. We stopped to talk with them and found out they were part of the CA Native Plant Society and volunteering every week to remove invasive thistle and grasses, to allow native plants to return.  They meet every Sunday morning.

The trail continues on the east side of the hill, separated from the road, and this is my favorite section of the hike.  It’s quiet and very scenic with fantastic views looking out over the Siesta Valley.

View out towards Siesta Valley

After a little over 2 miles you’ll reach an EBMUD gate and see the road up to the left. This is close to Scott’s Peak Trailhead (opposite side of road) and where I usually turn around and return the same way I came.

Grizzly Peak Blvd. and EBUD gate where I normally turn around

You’ll see a fire road heading straight down the hill, which ends at Cal Shakes – a great place to see Shakespeare and other plays during the summer.

If you continue further you’ll soon reach the junction with the De La Veaga Trail, which is an EBMUD trail that winds down to Orinda (permit required).  And if you continue straight you’ll reach the Tilden Steam Train and Seaview Trailhead.

Another option is to cross the street and hike down to the Claremont Canyon Lookout.

 

 

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Skyline to Sibley Trail

21 Oct

Length: 3.5 miles
Time:  1 hour and 20 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate.
Elevation Gain:  About 350 feet of gain from trailhead to Sibley Staging Area.
Dogs:  Yes!  Dogs are supposed to be leashed on the Skyline Trail until reaching the Sibley Staging Area and then can be off leash in Sibley, away from the parking lot.  You will typically see many happy dogs in the park!
EBMUD Permit:  Not Required
Calories: 600-700 calories
Highlights:  This is the fastest way to reach the 32-mile East Bay National Skyline Trail from Lamorinda, and an interesting and scenic way to access Sibley Volcanic Preserve.
Directions:  Take Highway 24 west towards Oakland.  Before going through the tunnel, exit on Fish Ranch Road.  At the stop sign, take a left across the highway and then take a right on Old Tunnel Road.  After about a quarter of a mile you’ll see a parking area.
Trailhead:  The new parking lot is at the bottom of Old Quarry Road, but you want to get on the Skyline Trail going south towards Sibley (look for sign shown below).  You can take it in the other direction to reach Tilden Regional Park.

The old Broadway Tunnel was 200 feet above the current Caldecott Tunnel

The old Broadway Tunnel was 200 feet above the current Caldecott Tunnel

When you first take a right on Old Tunnel Road, it’s fun to remember that this small road used to lead to the old tunnel that was 220 feet above the current Caldecott Tunnel.  It was called The Broadway Tunnel, Kennedy Tunnel, and Inter-County Tunnel.  After surviving protests from Lafayette residents that thought it would increase competition for land, the old tunnel opened in 1904.  It was 1.040 feet long, 17 feet wide and lined with timber.   Long, dark and narrow, the tunnel could only accommodate one-way traffic..   Wagon drivers lit up newspapers when entering as a signal to those at the other end to wait.  In 1915 the ceiling was raised three feet to accommodate cars and trucks.   In 1937, when the old tunnel was retired, it was handling 30,000 cars per week.  Today the Caldecott handles 160,000 cars daily!

After you park you’ll see the signs for the Skyline Trail.  The 32-mile East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail goes through six different parks and preserves.  The trail begins at the entrance to Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in Richmond and leads through Tilden Regional Park, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, Redwood Regional Park and Anthony Chabot Regional Park.   It is part of the larger 550 mile Bay Area Ridge Trail that circles the entire Bay Area.

To start the hike, go through the gate (shown in picture) with signs pointing the way to Sibley Volcanic Preserve.   Right away you will see a sign explaining how the Caldecott Wildlife Corridor provides an important path for animals to move between parklands on the south and north sides of Highway 24.  They certainly don’t stand much chance trying to sprint across the highway!

Skyline Gate

The wooded trail leading to Sibley

The wooded trail leading to Sibley

You will begin a steady, gradual climb through the wooded canyon adjacent to Round Top Creek, which is dry in the summer.   Many of the trees are California Bay Laurel Trees.  After about 9/10ths of a mile you will reach the parking lot and visitor center for the Sibley Volcanic Preserve.  The park is named in honor of Robert Sibley, who helped found the East Bay Regional Park District and served for 10 years on its board of directors.

Sibley Volcanic Preserve Visitor Center - 9/10th of a mile from trailhead

Sibley Volcanic Preserve Visitor Center – 9/10th of a mile from trailhead

This is a good chance to use the bathrooms, get a drink, and check out the unstaffed outdoor visitor center that has interesting displays illustrating the preserve’s geology.

It’s pretty cool that we have a 10 million year old volcano in our back yard!  It features a complex volcanic center that was the source of most of the lavas that underlie the ridges from Inspiration Point in Tilden Regional Park to Moraga.  Since the volcano’s active days, tectonic forces on the Hayward and Moraga earthquake faults have uplifted the Berkeley hills and tilted the Round Top volcano complex on its side.  So, under the grassy cover, its guts are exposed, and a self-guided brochure is available highlighting visible geological features.

Backtrack to where the Skyline Trail continues into the trees, on the north side of the visitor center.   After about a quarter mile you’ll reach an intersection of trails.  Look across to the other side of the road and you’ll see a post showing where the Skyline Trail continues.   After another fifth of a mile, you’ll intersect the road that leads up to Round Top, one of the highest peaks in the area at 1763 feet.    Cross the road and then take the Round Top Trail to the left.  The Skyline Trail continues to Huckleberry Preserve and then Redwood Regional Park.

The Round Top Trail circles around the peak for about a mile.  When you reach a viewpoint of an old quarry pit, you are about half way around.    This pit was made by quarry operations that removed huge amounts of massive basalt lava, and it now exposes the interior of the Round Top volcano.  Looking down into the pit you’ll see a large labyrinth.  It was crafted in 1989 by Montclair sculptor and psychic Helena Mazzariello as “a gift to the world.”

Continue past the viewpoint and then take a left to stay on the Round Top Trail (or see alternate loop below).   After going through a gate, you’ll reach the junction again.  Take the Scenic Overlook Trail on the right.   This will take you back to the visitor area, where you can rejoin the Skyline Trail and follow it back down to where you parked.

Skyline-to-Sibley-Map-Marked

An alternate loop that features more of the volcanic features of the park, is instead of going left to stay on the Round Top Loop Trail (after the quarry pit), is to continue on the Quarry Trail, then take a right on the Volcanic Trail which will dead end into the top of Quarry Road, which you can take back down to the staging area.  Besides the volcanic features, this way is through open hillsides and features wildflowers, like CA poppies and lupine, in the spring (see picture below). The distance or time needed for the hike doesn’t change.  The map below shows the alternate loop.

Alternate loop that features more of the volcanic features of the park

 

California poppies on the Volcanic Trail in the spring

Full Map of Sibley Volcanic Preserve – Trailhead for this hike is where it says “Old Tunnel Road Staging Area”

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