Emma Ferneyhough Colner

Sunol Regional Wilderness

Continuing our exploration of what the East Bay has to offer in terms of hiking, I bring to you some photos from Sunol Regional Wilderness. We went about a month ago, but my weekends have somehow gotten away from me and I haven’t been able to update this blog for a while (plus I’m trying to have a few posts related to programming in between).

It took about an hour from SF but was an easy drive, mostly on freeways. The day we went was sunny and warm but not hot, and we spent around 4 hours on the trail with several stops to rest and relax. If I remember correctly, the trails we followed were:

  • Indian Joe Nature Trail
  • Indian Joe Creek Trail
  • Cave Rocks Road
  • High Valley Road
  • Flag Hill Road
  • Flag Hill Trail

for a total of about 5 miles. I really liked the trail. We didn’t run into many other people, there was a variety of plant and animal life, variety of terrain, and there’s a farm/ranch in the middle of it with a bunch of sleepy cows. Plus there is a great view from the top. The only downside I could see is that there is a lot of cow poop on the trails, but they were mostly dry.

2015Apr_Sunol04

There were a lot of wildflowers blooming.

2015Apr_Sunol12

This one was my favorite flower.

2015Apr_Sunol14

Interesting lichen.

2015Apr_Sunol16

Woody Woodpecker's been around.

2015Apr_Sunol26

That ranch I was talking about.

2015Apr_Sunol31

The view from Flag Hill.

2015Apr_Sunol35

On our way back down the trail. Beautiful day!