Briones Blowout

East Bay Hike on Briones Crest

With crowd favorites Tilden to the west and Mount Diablo to the east, Briones Regional Park can seem like the introvert of East Bay outdoor playgrounds. But don't be fooled: Briones isn't afraid to show off its wild side! The park has over 6,000 acres of ridge-top hiking trails, dirt mountain biking roads, and panoramic peaks. For a scenic circuit, do the 7.6-mile loop hike—from wagon road to crest to valley. The hike starts from the Bear Creek parking lot. After connecting the Black Oak and Mott Peak Trail, you'll climb to one of this hike's high points, literally and figuratively. Briones Crest Trail is one of the nicest in the park—tracking a ridge overlooking Concord, Walnut Creek, Suisun Bay, Mount Diablo, and the EBMUD watershed while gently climbing past several lagoons. The loop is especially scenic in the fall, when a tunnel of softly-turning red madrones, maples, and yellow-tinged black oaks will deliver you back to the parking lot through fields of tawny tussock. Now that's a grand finale.

Take Old Briones Rd. from Bear Creek parking lot and turn left onto Black Oak Trail. Bear right on Mott Peak Trail. Climb for a third of a mile and turn right at Briones Crest Trail, climbing until it passes Briones Peak. Take either Table Top or Briones Creek at the fork junction—they reconnect after 1 mile. Descend and turn right onto Seaborg Trail. Follow back to Old Briones Rd. and turn left to return to the parking lot. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset. No dogs. 

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Taking the Stage: Tyler Ranch

    Hike the recently opened Tyler Ranch Staging Area in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, with 18 miles of new trails. This 6.5-mile loop up Sunol Peak is a challenge and rewards with exceptional views of seasonal iridescent hills.

    View
  2. A woman stands at Dante's View in Death Valley, looking out to Telescope Peak and Manly Lake, Badwater Basin below.

    Sunset Hike (and Manly Lake Vista!) at Dante's View

    It’s one of the world’s best places to watch a sunset. Dante’s View is a 5,476-foot vantage of the whole southern basin of Death Valley from the top of the Black Mountains. On clear days you get views of both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous U.S. 

    View
  3. Swing into Spring

    Swing into this 7.1-mile hike in the hills of Half Moon Bay! It’s got gorgeous views, fields of spring wildflowers, and a hidden rustic tree swing.

    View
  4. The Carson Show

    Carson Falls is ready for primetime. This three-tiered, 100-foot stunner is hidden back in a canyon outside of Fairfax and reached on a 3.25-mile (round-trip) hike.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Lava Lava

    Once a land of volcanic activity, Mojave National Preserve shares plenty about its past via a quick yet adventurous hike to the Lava Tube in the Cima Dome Volcanic Field.

    View
  2. Kelso Dunes

    The hike to the top of Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve is only 3 miles (out and back), but you’ll feel like you’ve hiked much farther by the time you’re done.

    View
  3. William Kenyon Overlook

    Some of the best vistas of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are easily accessible via a short and sweet 1.25-mile (round-trip) hike just off the CA-78. Enter your next favorite desert viewpoint: the William Kenyon Overlook.

    View
  4. Beaudry Bountiful

    There are no cars allowed on Beaudry Loop, but this 6-mile hike takes you on a wild ride. You’ll be climbing 1,500 feet up the southern Verdugos along a chaparral-lined trail with gorgeous mountain and urban vistas every step of the way.

    View