Sunol Wilderness

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Hiking - Trail running - Walking - Sightseeing - Horseback Riding - Backpacking

Unknown: 6.7 miles, unknown

Overview: Sunol Regional Wilderness will make you forget you're just five miles from the nearest Interstate highway. The 6,858-acre park in the East Bay hills north of Silicon Valley has rolling hills, heart-healthy trails, remarkable rocks and abundant wildlife. To go there is to see what this part of California looked like before all the white people showed up.

Sunol is best suited for hikers, birders and naturalists, though the large corral near the park HQ attracts a fair number of equestrians. There are no easy paths to the tall hills surrounding the HQ, but if you're got the legs and heart for a god work-out, you'll find astounding vistas when your climbing''s done.

Winter and spring are the best times to go. It gets a bit too hot in July and August, but early autumn is a great time to see randy tarantulas on the hunt for mates (oddly enough, a spider the size of your fist in the wilderness is not nearly as frightful as the one the size of a dime in your bathroom).

Spring wildflowers

Winter rains and warming spring days bring wildflowers out in abundance: California poppies, blue dicks, shooting stars and many more. The flower show presents an excellent opportunity to learn how use your digital camera's "macro" function; if the breezes cooperate and allow the flowers to stand still, you can produce surprisingly good photographs (buy glossy prints at your local pharmacy and see for yourself). Check the East Bay Regional Parks site for the schedule of the annual Wildflower Festival, usually held in early April.

Flag Hill

Fit hikers like to warm up on on the leg-burning thousand-foot climb to Flag Hill, where a wonderful view of the park's terrain awaits. Many more gradual routes to the hill are available: my favorite takes Indian Joe Creek Trail to Cave Rocks Road, turns left and goes to High Valley Road till it intersects with Flag Hill Road. A left turn there takes you to the hilltop. Get a park map to confirm your turns.

Sunol Wilderness Guide

Sunol Wilderness Guide Details

Spring wildflowers

Flag Hill