The weather was so sparklingly gorgeous yesterday morning that we could do nothing but leave the house. Headed straight for Mt. Diablo, images of a peaceful ride up the 24 and a picnic with an aerial view of the SF Bay flashed through my mind. That is, until we reached the east side of the Bay Bridge, and noticed the miles upon miles of pileup traffic headed into city. A mile after that, our own pileup headed into the Berkeley Hills.
Here enters the GPS and its handy "no-highway" mode. We pull off highway 24 into winding, hilly neighborhoods, through a small town, and left onto "Snake Road." Snake Road leads us to Skyline Blvd, and soon enough, we are at the top of a ridge zipping through some of the most beautiful open space scenery I have seen in Northern California. 20 minutes from downtown SF. Aside from a few bikers and cyclists, the cars are sparse.
We could have kept going this way to get to Mt. Diablo, but the open space surrounding us was just too compelling. A few clicks into the GPS, and we realized we were skirting Redwood Regional Park. We found the entrance, and pulled into the park.
I have no idea how this park is off the radar for all the Bay Area weekend adventurers. It was downright gorgeous, unpopulated, and quiet (aside from the chattering birds and hum of the bees in the wildflowers). Picnic lunch in an open field, a little bit of frisbee and a lazy afternoon nap in the sun. Then, a hike along a creek, a few campsites and sweet benches along the way, a regrowth redwood forest to cool us down, and a climb up to the ridge surrounding the park - vista views all the way home.
If you are one of the 5 people who read this blog, please go to this park and enjoy it like we did. But, don't tell anyone else :) We like this secret park relatively close to home.
No comments:
Post a Comment