EquestrianTrails in East Bay

The trails follow the banks of Alameda Creek in southern Alameda County from the mouth of Niles Canyon (in the Niles District of Fremont) westward to San Francisco Bay with a distance of 12 miles. Alameda Creek is Alameda Countys largest, and is home to a host of birds and other wildlife. The north side of the trail is for equestrians as well as hikers and cyclists. For a trail map, please click here

Anthony Chabot Park is 5,067 acres where visitors can explore miles of hiking, horseback riding, and bicycling trails through grasslands, chaparral, and shady eucalyptus groves or along the shores of Lake Chabot. The East Bay Skyline National Trail, which traverses 31 miles of East Bay hills from Richmond to Castro Valley, runs the length of the park. Chabot is connected to Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area by a six mile section of the Chabot to Garin Regional Trail.

The preserve gets its name from the 1700 foot Brushy Peak.  It hosts a great variety of wildlife including amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. The area is also home to many wildflowers, shrubs, woodland habitats, spring-fed ponds and coast live oak.  The area lies at the center of a network of ancient trade routes that linked Bay Area Ohlones, Bay Miwoks, and Northern Valley Yokuts, who were drawn to the area for economic, and social events. There are about ten miles of dirt trails for hiking, bicycling and horses.  Bring water with you since there is none on site.

Contra Loma Regional Park has 780 acres that includes an 80 acre reservoir that has shoreline trails as well as other trails that can be used hikers, horses and bicycles and six picnic sites. There is one equestrian staging area at the south end of the park.

The park is 5,000 acres where visitors can explore miles of riding in a valley surrounded by oak trees and hosting a lake five miles long. There are paved and dirt trails.

The park is 4,763 acres with 20 miles of multi-use dirt trails that comprise these parklands. Trails are easy to moderate with up to an 800 foot elevation change. There is a large dirt parking lot.  There are restrooms near the Garin Barn and drinking fountains in the picnic area.

Lake Chabot Reservoir is a 315 acre lake that was built in 1874 as a primary source of water for the East Bay. Services include boat rentals, the Marina Cafe, picnicking, grassy play area, horseshoe pits, hiking, bicycling, jogging, and running trails, and seasonal lake boat tours. There is a part paved, part dirt 12 mile trail around Lake Chabot.  There are also fire roads. In winter, dirt trails are muddy so be careful.  Lake Chabot trails connect to even more trails in Anthony Chabot Regional Park.

Las Trampas Wilderness Regional Preserve ahs more than 5,700 acres of wilderness and an expanded trail system that for hikers, bicycles and horseback riders. This park is home to the Las Trampas and Bollinger faults and their related geological formations including remnants of ancient shoreline, fossil-bearing rock layers, and a volcanic tuff. The main entrance is the Bollinger staging area that has a chemical toilet and picnic site. There is no water within the park.

This is 741 acre park with 50 acre Arrowhead Marsh that is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. There are paved trails that are shared by equstrians, pedestrians and bicycles.

This preserve has a trail that goes straight up from sea level to the 2500 foot Mission Peak and a total of 29 miles of trails. It has no shade but the trail is very wide and you share it with bicycles, hikers, runners and dogs. There are many cattle grazing. The staging area is very crowded on weekends so another option is to use the area on Vineyard for parking and unloading. For a map of the trails, please click here

This mountain state park is a total of 19,000 acres of oak woodland, grassland and chaparral with knobcone, digger and Coulter pine as well as wildflowers. It has a 3,849 foot summit. There is an extensive trail system for hiking, bicycles and horseback riding with wildlife and sandstone rock formations and small caves and fossils. The Fire Interpretive Trail and the Summit Trail above lower summit parking lot are closed to horses. There are two staging areas for equestrian use: Mitchell Canyon staging area is located on the north side of the mountain near Clayton and the Macedo Ranch area is located in the west side of the park in Alamo. Most other trailhead are suitable for unloading horses with the exceptions of those trailheads with only limited parking along road shoulders. Water troughs can be found throughout the park but are not maintained so carry water. The park has one approved horse camp, BBQ Terrace. It will hold upto 50 horses and 50 people. Reservations can be made through the regular camping reservation system. Reserve America 800-444-7275.

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is a 5,271-acre park in the East Bay Regional Park District overlooking Pleasanton and the Livermore Valley.

This park contains four bodies of water: Horseshoe Lake, Rainbow Lake, Willow Slough and Lago Los Osos. There are many paved trails open to equestrians, pedestrians and bicycles that surround the water. There are no specific staging areas.

The park's 1,829 acres is home to a forest of coast redwood, other evergreens, chaparral, and grasslands. Wildlife includes rare species such as the golden eagle and Alameda striped racer snake. You are likely to see deer, raccoons and rabbits.  Redwood Creek runs through the park and is home to the world-famous rainbow trout that spawn in the creek and migrate from a downstream reservoir.

This 266 acre park hosts an 80 acre lake and an arroyo with a chain of smaller lakes and ponds. Numerous waterbirds may be sighted throughout the year in the smaller lakes and ponds. There are paved and upaved trails for hiking, equestrian and bicycling trails as well as hiking only trails around the park and water areas.

There are about ten miles of trails including a trail leading up to Round Top (elevation 1763 ft.) that is made up of lava and volcanic debris left over from a 10-million-year-old volcano. Other trails pass through ridgelines and ponds.  The visitor center offers a self-guided brochure for observing the local geology.

The park is 6,859 acres with equestrian trails and cattle grazing throughout. There are a large variety of trees, flowers, birds and other wildlife to be found in the park. This is a great place for bird watching with at least 20 different bird species.

Tilden is a 2,079 acres park with many miles of trails that are shared by equestrians, hikers and bicyles with some hiker only trails. There is one location for horse water at the southwest end of the park and multiple locations for human drinking fountains and restrooms. For a map of the north side of the park, please click here

The park extends 2,430 acres along the Wildcat Creek watershed and the surrounding hills and ridges. There is a total of 22 miles of trails consisting 13 miles of fire roads, 6 miles of single track trails and 3 miles of paved trails. There is a large variety of brush and trees as wildflowers and wild animals and many bird species. Equestrians are only permitted on some of the paved roads and fire roads.