This review covers a short, two mile roundtrip hike at the north end of Del Valle County Park. We did this in the summer after visiting the wineries so our group did not have enough energy to go any further. To get there, follow directions to The Restaurant at Wente Vinyards, 5050 Arroyo Road, Livermore, CA 94550 and keep following Arroyo Rd past the Livermore Park Ranger Office. Keep a look out on your left for the large parking lot where the East Shore Trail begins. This is the north end of the park by the dam. There plenty of parking and a staging area for horse trailers. While there is a $3 fee for parking, the meters are broken so it does not give you the ticket to put on your car windshield. Use your judgment about whether to pay for parking or not.
Parking lot Portable restroom
East Shore trailhead Water fountain
Start at the East Shore Trailhead by the parking lot, where there is a horse water trough, portable toilet, water fountain and a picnic table. The trail is exposed to the sun almost the entire way up to the top of the hill where you get a view of the north end of the Lake Del Valle. It is advisable to bring plenty of water with you on your hike because the sun is strong. In the beginning of the walk, we passed the Alameda Creek where there were a few people fishing even though the creek is closed for fishing.
Flat wide part of trail View of dam
Alameda creek Start up the hill
View of golf course Dry grasses on the hill
Eventually you reach the top of the hill and are rewarded with views of Heron Bay and the rest of Lake Del Valle.
Trail views
Golf course view
Views of Heron Bay
At the top of the hill, there is a fork in the road that gives you a choice of taking the Heron Bay Trail that passes closer to the shore of the Lake, or you can stay on the East Shore Trail. The trail is popular with hikers and mountain bikers. At this point, we turned around and headed back to the parking lot.
Full Review: Del Valle Regional Park
This review covers a short, two mile roundtrip hike at the north end of Del Valle County Park. We did this in the summer after visiting the wineries so our group did not have enough energy to go any further. To get there, follow directions to The Restaurant at Wente Vinyards, 5050 Arroyo Road, Livermore, CA 94550 and keep following Arroyo Rd past the Livermore Park Ranger Office. Keep a look out on your left for the large parking lot where the East Shore Trail begins. This is the north end of the park by the dam. There plenty of parking and a staging area for horse trailers. While there is a $3 fee for parking, the meters are broken so it does not give you the ticket to put on your car windshield. Use your judgment about whether to pay for parking or not.
Parking lot Portable restroom
East Shore trailhead Water fountain
Start at the East Shore Trailhead by the parking lot, where there is a horse water trough, portable toilet, water fountain and a picnic table. The trail is exposed to the sun almost the entire way up to the top of the hill where you get a view of the north end of the Lake Del Valle. It is advisable to bring plenty of water with you on your hike because the sun is strong. In the beginning of the walk, we passed the Alameda Creek where there were a few people fishing even though the creek is closed for fishing.
Flat wide part of trail View of dam
Alameda creek Start up the hill
View of golf course Dry grasses on the hill
Eventually you reach the top of the hill and are rewarded with views of Heron Bay and the rest of Lake Del Valle.
Trail views
Golf course view
Views of Heron Bay
At the top of the hill, there is a fork in the road that gives you a choice of taking the Heron Bay Trail that passes closer to the shore of the Lake, or you can stay on the East Shore Trail. The trail is popular with hikers and mountain bikers. At this point, we turned around and headed back to the parking lot.
View of Heron Bay Trail
Mountain bikers