With its dream-like woodlands and footpaths that connect to nearby trails, the 7-acre Bodfish Preserve is now known as a community treasure. But it wasn’t always this way. Before her death in 1999, Margaret Bodfish established a trust so that her Orinda property and its adobe home on Miner Road would be preserved as a public park. In the ensuing years, the Canyon Ranch Homeowner’s Association, the Orinda Highlands Homeowner’s Association and the Orinda Parks and Recreation Foundation all worked together to protect the oak-covered property, but had not found a permanent solution before a vital deadline approached.
The Bodfish Trust specified that if the property did not become a park within four years, ownership would be transferred to UC Santa Cruz. Had that happened, it likely would have been auctioned off to a developer. At the 11th hour, when the land was just days from being transferred to the university, John Muir Land Trust stepped in and took ownership instead—to preserve it as public open space and a wildlife sanctuary. The Land Trust eventually sold the property to a private party and now permanently protects it with a conservation easement, ensuring that Margaret Bodfish’s vision for the land would endure for generations to come.
Today, Bodfish Preserve remains open to the public, and those neighbors who fought so long to preserve this property are happy to share it with the wider community. The trails wind through mature oak groves and connect to a network of paths in the surrounding hills, giving you plenty of options for exploring with your dog. The preserve itself is quiet and feels removed from the neighborhoods nearby, even though it’s tucked into Orinda’s residential areas.
Getting there takes a bit of navigation. From Highway 24, take the St. Stephens exit and drive north about half a mile, then turn right on Las Vegas Road and immediately bear right on Via Las Cruces. Turn left on Honey Hill Road and continue as it becomes Miner Road. Bodfish Preserve sits on the left approximately a third of a mile past Gardiner Court. There’s no sign marking it, so keep an eye out for the oak trees and trail entrance.
