If you like hiking, biking or riding horseback atop the Pleasanton Ridge, you can now enjoy an additional 5 miles of trails that's been added.
The East Bay Regional Parks District opened last Saturday nearly 1,100 acres of open space on the north end of the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, which features 4,085 acres of undeveloped land.
The new property features steep, wooded ridges that rise to elevations of more than 1,600 feet above the San Ramon Valley and Livermore plain. The Ridge now has a total of 30 miles of trails with the new addition. The trail system is open to hiking, horseback riding and biking through oak/bay woodland, grassland covered rolling hills, and valleys with meandering tree lined creeks.
Reaching the new trails can be rigorous by foot. It's an 8-mile-plus hike one-way from the Foothill staging area to the newly opened connections. All trails are accessible to mountain bikes and equestrians. Connections to the new property are from the Foothill staging area via the Ridgeline Trail, which passes through Augustin Bernal Park. North Ridge Trail and Sinbad Creek Trail then continue into the new property. Until a revised park map can be made available, visitors are asked to be attentive to all signs designating trails and not enter adjacent private property.
The land for the new trails was acquired in the 1990s but only recently in the past few years was it outfitted for public use. Funding for it came from Measure AA, which expires at the end of this year. In November, voters approved the passage of Measure WW, which will essentially extend the AA tax and grant the parks district funds of up to $500 million to carry out future parks projects.
The East Bay Regional Parks District adds this tip for the new trail segments: The north end of Pleasanton Ridge is challenging for even the most seasoned hikers. As a rule of thumb, expect to hike no more than 1 to 2 miles an hour due to elevation gains and steep canyons. Plan ahead--let someone know where you're going, bring plenty of water and snacks and always take a map. Remember, it gets dark early now so dress in layers and bring a headlamp or flashlight as an extra precaution.
Comments
Vintage Hills
on Dec 10, 2008 at 2:37 pm
on Dec 10, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Wow! 1100 acres all open for the folks in Pleasanton to enjoy, and we don't need to sell our souls to Oak Grove, loose our beautiful ridgetops, or cause volumes of traffic through our streets to get the land.
Now that is a Win/Win for everyone!!
Can anyone tell me why this gift of land was not more highly publicized by the Pleasanton Weekly during the Oak Grove debates?
Dublin
on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:00 pm
on Dec 10, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Regarding 1,100 acres of open space at Pleasanton Ridge, I have grown to love our valleys and ridge lands and really thankful for the opportunity to walk these lands. My family moved to Livermore in 1956 and graduated from Livermore Union HS in 1971, but always considered myself a citizen of this entire valley. Please take time to enjoy what what is around us.
Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Dec 10, 2008 at 11:11 pm
on Dec 10, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Karen,
Please clarify what you mean by "gift of land". From the article, the land was purchased with Measure AA funds. Speaking of this, no one here ever commented on my suggestion to purchase Oak Grove from the Lins when I wrote about it and gave the Save Banning Ranch group down in Newport Beach as an example. Is this the case that Pleasanton residents would rather take land through the ballot box than pay owners?
Stoneridge
on Dec 15, 2008 at 3:41 pm
on Dec 15, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Nothing like smokin' a fatty and hiking these beautiful trails.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Dec 15, 2008 at 5:01 pm
on Dec 15, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Don't smoke *too* much! You'll need your lungs to hike the 8 miles of hilly terrain just to get to the new trails. I've never hiked it, but I do bike there on occasion. Even with a bike, it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours of strenuous cycling to get there.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Dec 16, 2008 at 9:55 pm
on Dec 16, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Where are all of the Oak Grove people?
They should be celebrating this topic with comments galore.
It was all about preserving open space not just for their hillside neighborhood right?
1,100 acres! C'mon guys follow me, yippee! (Why do I feel like Will Ferrell [Old School] streaking down Main Street thinking everyone is following? Hmmm.)
Foothill High School
on Dec 17, 2008 at 5:19 pm
on Dec 17, 2008 at 5:19 pm
PJ, the Oak Grove people already know that this piece of the plan has been in the works for years. They also know that it's part of the same trail system that Oak Grove will be a part of. And finally, they know that a group of self-centered NIMBYs can't threaten to take it away since EBRPD already owns it. So yes, it's nice to finally have it open, but it's certainly not as accessible as Oak Grove will be to Pleasanton residents. They'll be able to park at a staging area right at the trailhead at Oak Grove, and not have to hike 8 miles just to get to it like they'll do to get to this piece of the Pleasanton Ridge.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Dec 17, 2008 at 9:49 pm
on Dec 17, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Hi Jack,
Thanks for the response.
Question: (Since your in the Foothill area you probably have a good idea on this) Can't the new trails be accessed from the Augustin Bernal Park by Pleasanton residents?
I think the 8 miles hike reference is the info that EBRPD has to give out to the general public who has to use their staging area that is a few miles to the south. I believe the A.B. Park staging area for Pleasanton residents is about half way up into the hills and a few miles to the north of the EBRPD staging area.
Foothill High School
on Dec 18, 2008 at 8:45 am
on Dec 18, 2008 at 8:45 am
PJ, you're right, folks can use the Agustin Bernal access to get to the Pleasanton Ridge tTrail, so it's probably only about a four mile hike to get to the new pices from there. Hopefully when the plan is completed, and folks have staging areas all around town, it will be even easier to get to.
Ridgeview Commons
on Feb 10, 2009 at 7:01 am
on Feb 10, 2009 at 7:01 am
This alignment is also towards a southerly rising of Venus which occurs once every eight years.
Ridgeview Commons
on Feb 21, 2009 at 11:07 am
on Feb 21, 2009 at 11:07 am
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Fairlands Elementary School
on Oct 22, 2009 at 3:41 am
on Oct 22, 2009 at 3:41 am
Work- benches were originally designed for human-body mod- els, which they do display life-size. ,
Vintage Hills
on Oct 23, 2009 at 3:02 am
on Oct 23, 2009 at 3:02 am
Attending and presenting at conferences provides scholars the opportunity to network, share their scholarship, and gain feedback from other scholars in the field. ,