The East Bay Regional Park District has a hiking challenge each year. I did the 2014 challenge, the challenge is a set number of hikes/walks designed to get people exploring a large cross-section of the district’s parks and enjoy everything that goes along with it. The challenge is free and you get a free T-Shirt and pin when it is completed. The hikes are broken up into difficulties: Easy, Moderate, Challenging. As an avid hiker the Easy ones are basically strolls toddlers and old folks can do, moderate are for an average casual hiker, and the challenging ones are for people who have a decent amount of stamina. To be more specific, even the challenging can be handled by any Boy Scout or weekend backpacker with ease. I will create a separate project page showing the details of the challenge as a guide for people who read these posts later.

Last week I decided to take it easy, choosing a hike to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather. One of my favorite spots is the Carquinez Shoreline Regional Park; it is great for barbecuing, fishing, and some leisurely hiking. It just so happened this park was on the 2015 Hiking Challenge as an Easy hike. This particular hike takes advantage of about half of the 1,500 or so acres of the park.

 

The park entrance sits at the top of hill where the hiking challenge is supposed to start, but with any sunny day it is its better to start this hike at Eckley Pier. This pier and park is well maintained and has some historical features to boot!

Eckley is an abandoned town from the last century, it was a major ferry terminal before the Carquinez bridge was built, there is one brick structure left and remains of some piers, along with the decaying hulk of the Golden City Ferry.

Here is an before and now image of the Golden City Ferry.

 

The Southern Pacific Railroad still runs through the area bringing freight and Amtrak though. I took the time to have lunch down by the water, watching people take advantage of the concrete pier fishing.

Anyway, it was about time I got on with the real hike. Taking the trail from pier, I headed up to the main park entrance. This was going to be a short hike, a little over a mile, but it would offer great views of quaint towns, farms, and landmarks like Mt. Diablo.

The hike navigates around rolling hills and into a few dense Eucalyptus groves, the wind really russells through these trees, with falling branches making for an eerie atmosphere. Once you get past the groves you get some awesome views, including the locally famous town of Port Costa.

This little oddity of Northern California is known for a historical School, as a biker stop, and a wild west brothel. You can hike down to the town and get a drink at the only bar The Warehouse Cafe which I believe offers different beers from every country in the world.

After I looked down on Port Costa the trail began its loop back to the park entrence. Here are few shots I took along the way.

 

With it still being spring, the wildflowers even in this small park were out in force! Poppies dominated, but patches of mustard grasses and various other colorful plants can be spotted for those looking.

 

If you are looking for relaxation away from the city this is a great hike and scenic spot. You can explore more of this little park; even with limited time the Carquinez Shoreline is a great excuse to get your family outside, without much hassle, and you can’t beat a place that offers history, views, nature all rolled into one.

For the rest of my image gallery from this hike follow the Link below.

Carquinez Shoreline Hiking Challenge 2015 Images Gallery