Want to go on a longer trip, and want to explore California's destination parks? Several of our best state and national parks are transit-accessible, including the Redwoods State and National Parks on the North Coast, Yosemite National Park, and Big Basin State Park. Read more »
San Francisco offers fantastic urban hiking within the city limits, plus easy access to some of the great hikes in the inner Bay Area. Explore expansive city parks from one corner of the city clear across to the other on the Crosstown Trail, hop on a ferry to Angel Island, or check out one of the historic forts in the Golden Gate National Recreation area. Read more »
From marshy shorelines, up to the redwood and eucalyptus filled hills perched above the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, and out to the hilly oak grasslands further east, the East Bay is where the sheer variety of ecosystems and climates of the Bay Area show off their full strength. Read more »
Hikes in the Berkeley and Oakland Hills, and the Lamorinda area.
Hikes past Lamorinda, from Danville to Antioch.
Hikes in the hills around Hayward through Fremont.
Marin County is perhaps the most popular outdoors destination in the Bay Area, and for good reason. A quick trip across the Bay from San Francisco drops you almost immediately in world-famous redwoods, atop mountains with 360° views of San Francisco, Oakland, and far beyond. Read more »
The north peninsula is perhaps most known to residents outside of the immediate area for the airport, the Serramonte Mall, and its graveyards. However, its hills hold some great high-altitude coastal preserves, with windswept views of the Bay, the Pacific, and even the Farallones. Read more »
The Valley of Heart's Delight was once famous for its fresh fruit, flowering trees, and scenic beauty. Today, the orchards are gone, but the hills remain, standing resolute above the traffic jams and sprawl. Read more »
Every year, the East Bay Regional Parks District puts on their annual Trails Challenge. Now in its 32nd year, the Challenge is both an encouragement to get out on the trails, with a mileage goal and a trail count goal, and a guide suggesting a variety of hikes to go on suitable for people of all levels of hiking comfort.
AC Transit is currently redesigning its bus network in a project called AC Transit Realign. The process is nearly finished, and there are important and positive ramifications for access to the outdoors in the inner part of the East Bay.
Part of the joy of living in the Bay Area for me has always been how close I am to natural places in their infinite variety. Our lands feature everything from cool, damp redwood forests to rolling oak savannahs, and one of the most incredible parts of living here is how much of it is public land – our land – open for anyone to explore.
However, at the same time, it’s always frustrated me how difficult it can be to get to our region’s preserves and open spaces by transit. Over the years, I’ve become quite adept at it, and compiled my own list of trailheads I’ve found ways to get to without a car. I hope that in sharing this with you, I can share the joy of our open spaces.
The hikes listed here are meant to serve as inspiration for your own adventures. Pick a trailhead, pack a map, and get out there!