Near: Orinda
Trip Type: Mountain Bike Ride
Elevation: 650-1350 ft
Distance: 8 miles
Surface: Dirt and Gravel
Vegetation: Pasture
Briones Regional Park is an often-overlooked park on the east side of the Berkeley hills. It's all pasture land and most of the trails are in open fields. In the summer this means exposed fire roads roasting under the sun surrounded by brown dead grass. In the spring though, the hills turn green. The open landscape yields gorgeous views and milder temperatures make for very pleasant hiking, running and biking. The route posted here is my favorite mountain biking route, as I find that's the most fun way to experience the park.
Links
Park District Site
Bay Area Mountain Bike Rides (which first pointed me to this ride)
Getting There
There are a few staging areas, but we always start at Bear Creek staging area. Take Camino Pablo north from Hwy 24 in Orinda (or Wildcat Canyon Rd over the hill from Berkeley) to the intersection of Wildcat and Camino Pablo. Take Bear Creek Rd (across from Wildcat) for about 4.5 miles and you'll see the Bear Creek Staging Area on the right, just past Happy Valley Rd.
The Route
My favorite route mostly follows the Briones Crest Trail along the highest terrain in the park. The easiest access to the ridge is via the Deer Creek Trail and best return to the parking area is via the Seaborg trail. The Briones Crest trail actually starts right by the parking area, but the first climb is pretty aggressive (dotted line on the map). If you really like aggressive climbs though, take this way. Also you can add some short sharp climbs on the high ground by taking the Table Top Trail along the ridge.
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| View from one of the many lumpy minor peaks in the park. |
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| A rare shaded portion of the trail |
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| Wildflowers aren't super abundant at Briones, but there are some nice patches here and there. |
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| Cow Traffic. Watch out on the downhills. |
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| Mt. Diablo from the Table Top Trail. |
Cal Topo Map:
http://caltopo.com/m/U08R
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