The Bay Area’s Tri-Valley region, just 30 minutes east of San Francisco, is a sunny paradise for hiking dogs and their people. With lots of wide open spaces and scenic vistas, the Tri-Valley is one of Northern California’s best kept secrets.
Las Trampas Wilderness/Bollinger Creek Trail (Dogs OK on leash)
This trail provides a relatively short, moderate hike up to the top of Las Trampas Ridge. Las Trampas Regional Wilderness offers 5,342 acres of wilderness and an expanded trail system that allows hikers and horseback riders to enjoy its remote and rugged areas. The park’s size and terrain allow visitors a feeling of privacy and escape from urban hustle and bustle. Once at the top, you will see beautiful panoramic views of the East Bay. This park is a good place for bird watching. There are many species of hawks, and occasionally, golden eagles are sighted.
Sycamore Valley Short Ridge Trail (Dogs OK on leash)
The Short Ridge Preserve is located within a region of rolling hills and valleys south of Mt. Diablo. The Short Ridge Trail is mostly grassland with scattered trees consisting of valley oak, coast live oak and buckeye.
This habitat supports gopher snakes, racers, Northern Pacific rattlesnakes, acorn woodpeckers, scrub jays, black-tailed titmouse, Western bluebirds, Northern orioles, lazuli buntings and loggerhead shrikes.
Finney Road Loop/Jeremiah Trail (Dogs OK on leash)
Jeremiah Trail is named for Jeremiah Morgan who was a rancher in the mid-late 1800s. This trail is for those who love a challenge and provides a good sampling of the varied landscape in the Northern California hills. It roller-coasters up and down on old roads, narrow footpaths, and has cow paths that barely leave an impression in the tall grass. The trail leads across open grassland, wooded hills, and dips into deep ravines embedded with the creeks that created them. Beautiful stands of live and blue oaks weave among the canyons and sycamores shade the creek bottoms.
