Summer is here and the weather is heating up.
Long summer days make this time of year fantastic for some outside fun. Don’t let the hot days keep you away from the trails.
There are plenty of East Bay parks where you can get outside and beat the heat. The geography of each of these areas helps them stay cool, while other places heat up during our scorching summer days.
Get ready to hit the trails! Here are six beautiful places to get outside during the summer.
1. Madrone Canyon
Madrone Canyon. Photo by Scott Hein
Madrone Canyon is a cool respite from the heat, offering much-needed shade and interesting moisture-loving plants to look at.
It’s easily accessible from Mount Diablo State Park’s Rock City area.
2. Radke Martinez Shoreline
Snowy egret at Radke Martinez Shoreline. Photo by Laura Kindsvater
This park provides a variety of outdoor experiences, along the coast. Visitors can enjoy ponds and creeks, nearly three miles of trails, and picnic areas all with a sweeping view of the Carquinez Strait.
The shoreline is a great place to go birding, so bring your binoculars and pay attention to what’s flying around as you enjoy your time there!
When you visit the shoreline, you’ll be standing in the northernmost tip of the Diablo Range, which starts at the Carquinez Strait and extends roughly 200 miles south to Antelope Valley.
3. Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. Photo by Nick Fullerton / CC BY
The 1.7-mile Huckleberry nature path is a self-guided interpretive trail that takes hikers through a variety of ecosystems as it loops through the preserve.
This small preserve is a great place to get a look at a rich variety of native plants year-round. Thanks to its location, the preserve gets plenty of fog, keeping the area cool during the summer.
Photo by Ken-ichi Ueda / CC BY
4. East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail
Hikers who want more of a challenge can try the 31-mile Skyline Trail, which stretches through a swath of East Bay wild lands, from Wildcat Canyon to Anthony Chabot Regional Park.
The Skyline Trail travels through six stunning parks and preserves. It can be entered from 21 access points along the trail, creating awesome opportunities for countless outdoor adventures.
It parallels the Bay Area Ridge Trail, a planned 550-mile trail that aims to connect the whole Bay Area.
5. Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park. Photo by Kwong Yee Cheng / CC BY
Tilden Regional Park is one of the three oldest parks in the East Bay Regional Park District. Stretching along Berkeley, Oakland, and Orinda, this large 2,079-acre park provides excellent opportunities for outdoor recreation to thousands of people every day.
It contains canyons and forests, which help outdoor explorers keep cool as they enjoy their time at the park.
Mount Diablo, seen from Tilden. Photo by Jimmy Hardwick / CC BY
Visitors can also explore Tilden’s Regional Parks Botanic Garden, which collects, grows, and displays native plants from across the state of California. It is among the best places to learn about California’s native flora.
Photos by Laura Kindsvater and Emily Sherwood
6. Leona Canyon Open Space Regional Preserve
On hot days, canyons like this are good places to beat the heat. Take a walk along the creek and rejuvenate at this small, pretty park.
Note: Before you hit the trails this summer, always be prepared, remember to bring water and sun protection!
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