Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunol Regional Wilderness hiking trip report - Alameda County, California USA.
(13feb2011) Sunol Regional Wilderness is east of San Francisco Bay and north of San Jose. Its a good place to go hiking, especially on a cool day in fall, winter or spring. Its a very good place for hiking with your dog because its on the short list of places that permit dogs to run off leash in undeveloped areas under voice command.
DoubleClick on the photos to see the large version - use the back button to return.
• Use the tool on the left to zoom in and out. Point on the red markers to see their names.
• Map button = road map. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain = 3D shaded topo map. Topo = topographic map.
• Full-Screen Road and Trail Map: Sunol Regional Wilderness.
Geographic coordinates - landmark name.
N 37.51608 W 121.83188 - Sunol Visitor Center.
N 37.50993 W 121.82867 - end of Geary Rd.
N 37.50885 W 121.82889 - bridge 1 over Alameda Creek.
N 37.50482 W 121.81838 - Little Yosemite Area.
N 37.51847 W 121.81014 - Cerro Este Overlook.
N 37.52662 W 121.81600 - Indian Joe Creek.
N 37.51596 W 121.83045 - bridge 2 over Alameda Creek.
We drove past the Sunol Visitor Center and parked at the end of the pavement on Geary Road. The Google road map (Map button - see above) shows Geary Road continuing, but public access ends at the gate. This is clearly visible on the satellite view of the map (Satellite button - see above). Trails at Sunol Regional Wilderness are not marked on the USGS topographic map provided at mapper.acme.com (Topo button), but in this open grassland area most of the trails we hiked can be followed easily in the satellite view on the map.
We hiked the bridge over Alameda Creek and down the Camp Ohlone Road. Alameda Creek flows for a short distance through a narrow, rocky gorge called the Little Yosemite Area. It wasn't too impressive when we were there because there was very little flow in the creek and it was too dark and shady for photography. We continued on Camp Ohlone Road past the confluences with Calaveras Creek and "W" Tree Rock Scramble Creek. Then we headed uphill on Backpack Road and McCorkle Trail, and stopped for a break where the trail crosses "W" Tree Rock Scramble Creek. (Trail map in pdf format)
The last sunny day before a rainstorm is a really great time to go hiking. Throughout the day the skies were filled with the most beautiful feathery clouds.
More BRT photos:
• Sunol Regional Wilderness hiking photos - brthomas 14feb2011.
• Olympus Stylus 720SW camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software.
More BRT videos:
• BRT hiking and kayaking videos.
• Video taken with Olympus Stylus 850SW waterproof camera.
• Video edited with Windows Movie Maker.
We continued on Cave Rocks Road, turning downhill on Indian Joe Creek Trail and Indian Joe Nature Trail. We crossed another bridge over Alameda Creek, took a look at Sunol Visitor Center, then hiked Geary Road back to the car.
For more information:
• Hiking, Camping and Biking Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• California Hiking Trails - Statewide Information.
• California Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.
IceRocket Tags: hiking, trails, Sunol Regional Wilderness, Alameda County, California, northern California.
Tags: photography, landscape photography, hiking with dogs.
DoubleClick on the photos to see the large version - use the back button to return.
Hiking Trail Map - Sunol Regional Wilderness.
• The map is interactive. Click and drag to reposition map. Map user instructions.• Use the tool on the left to zoom in and out. Point on the red markers to see their names.
• Map button = road map. Satellite=satellite map. Terrain = 3D shaded topo map. Topo = topographic map.
• Full-Screen Road and Trail Map: Sunol Regional Wilderness.
Geographic coordinates - landmark name.
N 37.51608 W 121.83188 - Sunol Visitor Center.
N 37.50993 W 121.82867 - end of Geary Rd.
N 37.50885 W 121.82889 - bridge 1 over Alameda Creek.
N 37.50482 W 121.81838 - Little Yosemite Area.
N 37.51847 W 121.81014 - Cerro Este Overlook.
N 37.52662 W 121.81600 - Indian Joe Creek.
N 37.51596 W 121.83045 - bridge 2 over Alameda Creek.
We drove past the Sunol Visitor Center and parked at the end of the pavement on Geary Road. The Google road map (Map button - see above) shows Geary Road continuing, but public access ends at the gate. This is clearly visible on the satellite view of the map (Satellite button - see above). Trails at Sunol Regional Wilderness are not marked on the USGS topographic map provided at mapper.acme.com (Topo button), but in this open grassland area most of the trails we hiked can be followed easily in the satellite view on the map.
We hiked the bridge over Alameda Creek and down the Camp Ohlone Road. Alameda Creek flows for a short distance through a narrow, rocky gorge called the Little Yosemite Area. It wasn't too impressive when we were there because there was very little flow in the creek and it was too dark and shady for photography. We continued on Camp Ohlone Road past the confluences with Calaveras Creek and "W" Tree Rock Scramble Creek. Then we headed uphill on Backpack Road and McCorkle Trail, and stopped for a break where the trail crosses "W" Tree Rock Scramble Creek. (Trail map in pdf format)
The last sunny day before a rainstorm is a really great time to go hiking. Throughout the day the skies were filled with the most beautiful feathery clouds.
More BRT photos:
• Sunol Regional Wilderness hiking photos - brthomas 14feb2011.
• Olympus Stylus 720SW camera. Photos edited with IrfanView software.
Cerro Este Overlook, Sunol Regional Wilderness.
We continued on McCorkle Trail and Cerro Este Road to the Cerro Este Overlook, stopping there for a while to enjoy the most excellent view.More BRT videos:
• BRT hiking and kayaking videos.
• Video taken with Olympus Stylus 850SW waterproof camera.
• Video edited with Windows Movie Maker.
We continued on Cave Rocks Road, turning downhill on Indian Joe Creek Trail and Indian Joe Nature Trail. We crossed another bridge over Alameda Creek, took a look at Sunol Visitor Center, then hiked Geary Road back to the car.
Sri Thai Restaurant, Dublin CA.
On the way home we stopped for an excellent dinner at Sri Thai Restaurant in Dublin CA. We got Mieng Kum, an appetizer made of toasted coconut with ginger chutney wrapped in a spinach leaf. Som-Tum salad was a spicy salad made with shredded green papaya, shrimp, tomato, etc. Bankok Pepper Steak and Salmon Curry entrees were spicy, complex and wonderful dishes.For more information:
• Hiking, Camping and Biking Trip Reports - BRT Insights.
• California Hiking Trails - Statewide Information.
• California Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.
IceRocket Tags: hiking, trails, Sunol Regional Wilderness, Alameda County, California, northern California.
Tags: photography, landscape photography, hiking with dogs.
Labels: hiking
