I have visited this hiking trail since I moved to West Contra Costa County since 1998; I’d hike down the hill to where the picnic tables are. .. Afterwards, I’d walk towards the fishing pier, hanging a right walking along the shoreline, and drag my feet along the train tracks until I find myself in Port Costa at a old school saloon where a bunch of Pee Wee Herman’s biker buddies hang out. .. Disappointingly, I don’t hear«Tequila!» being played at this old timers’ saloon~Awwww-WHY NOT??? So after chugging a cold brew down and making a #1 pit stop at the saloon, I stagger up the countless HILLS towards where my car was parked, huffing and puffing. .. Ooof~that black Angus is staring at me!!! Uhhhhh… Nice Angus. .. I slowly, ever so slowly, back track away from the Angus. .. Nice Angus. .. Nice, nice Angus!!! Ooof~THAT Angus is snorting at me! Eeeeek! Slowly, I’m a hundred feet away from an animal I KNOW can bolt up to 35 miles per hour and I’m sweating knowing all too well not to anger that nice Angus because I can’t run as fast as that black Angus steer!!! Hiking over two more hills, I can still see that black Angus-he sees me and snorts very loudly.. . I’m scampering up another hill and another hill, until I see the cow pasture fencing! Ahhhh~The parking lot!!! Phew!!! It’s windy and the sun is setting but, gee whiz~That black Angus sure made me sweat wondering, if that Angus was going to bulldoze me over and send my body flying through the air! I must have hiked on the wrong trail because I can’t seem to understand why I ran into that black Angus steer!!! Hmmm~Was I hiking on a private pasture thinking it’s one of Carquinez’ hiking trails? I must say: Hiking on whatever trail I hiked, was seriously dangerous for me meeting that black Angus steer; traversing on that trail, surely could have been a deadly, hiking encounter! I never want experiencing meeting a snorting, black Angus steer ever again~Shish!!!
Andrew S.
Classificação do local: 5 San Francisco, CA
This review is for the Bull Valley trail, which starts at the Bull Valley Staging area on the George Miller trail east of Crockett and ends at the small town of Port Costa. It’s a great day hike and very accessible(basically a 3.5m round trip walk on easy trails with a couple of moderate uphills/downhills). The scenery is ridiculous; it’s like you’re walking through a landscape painting with fields of gold grain all around(we went in May so might be different coloration at different times of the year) and views of the bay and mountains, including Mt. Diablo, in the distance. After you go through a small eucalyptus grove the trail heads down to Port Costa, where you can take a leisurely halfway break poking around in the couple of little stores and/or grabbing a bite and a beer at the Warehouse Café. Overall a really enjoyable day if you’re looking for something active that’s not strenuous.
Sandra L.
Classificação do local: 5 Vacaville, CA
Close to home, lovely views of Mt Diablo, Benicia, Port Costa, and the Strait. Dog friendly with poop bags. Cattle roaming free. Porta– potties.
Shelli H.
Classificação do local: 5 Martinez, CA
Love love love this park. Clean bathrooms. Fishing. Hiking. Dogs off leash are cool as long as they are friendly. Picnic tables with bbqs. Lovely views. Just an awesome destination.
Lisa T.
Classificação do local: 5 El Cerrito, CA
Peaceful, quiet and close to home. I like the views of the strait and the trains rolling by. Shade and open spaces, the way I like it. In the springtime, unlimited breeze. Free parking is another plus.
Fer R.
Classificação do local: 5 Oakley, CA
Review is for Bull Valley Staging Area along the Carquinez Straight Regional Shoreline. What a hidden treasure along the beautiful northern Contra Costa County’s Carquinez Straight! Took my young son out here on a crisp February day and fully enjoyed seeing the sights! So much to see and explore. The views alone are spectacular! You can see clear across the straight to Benicia when your down on Eckley Pier, Mt Diablo is also visible when your hiking up along the Franklin Ridge. Such an awesome sight! Getting there, you’ll find Bull Valley Staging Area around a bend while driving in the Crockett Hills on McEwen Rd. The top parking lot is for hikers, bikers or if you’ve brought your horse. Free parking. Go further down the road and you’ll come to see a sign for Eckley Pier. Park your ride, get out and make your way down to the pier. You’ll have to cross the railroad tracks. You might be startled while enjoying the scenery when you hear the horn of an Amtrak or freight train rumble through. The youngsters love seeing trains! Once on the pier you’ll be amazed to see such a beautiful view. You’ll see the Carquinez Bridge and across to Benicia. If your lucky you’ll see a tugboat or two, huge sail boat that looked like a Pirate ship or maybe a huge tanker ship, but of course you’ll see your local fishing boat. Back to the picnicking grounds you’ll have your choice of picnic tables to choose from. A huge grassy area in middle is perfect for that family game of soccer, tag or softball. There are a few tables that have BBQ’s. Down near the railroad tracks you’ll find remnants of an old brick building. Along the shore you’ll find more old bricks. You’ll hear the sounds of so many different birds! I saw a few hawks! No fishing license is needed for fishing on the pier. Dogs on leash are OK. Swimming or wading are allowed. Lots of broken glass along shore so wear water shoes! 2 pit outhouses. Drinking water fountains.
Chris G.
Classificação do local: 4 Sacramento, CA
This review is for the western portion of Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline. Visited on May 28, 2013 We started our 1.85 mile hike/walk at the Bull Valley Staging Area. There’s room for about 15 cars or so and no entrance fees. There’s also a message board with a map and various warnings and a dog poop receptacle. At the trailhead there’s also an outhouse style pit toilet. I took a peek in and it looked pretty clean and fully stocked with toilet paper. We decided to take the Carquinez Overlook Loop Trail. Right away we knew it was going to be a very scenic trip. We had views of the Carquinez Bridge, Glen Cove and the backside of Benicia State Park. At .10 miles, we continued to the left on the Loop Trail and soon the views of the Carquinez Strait opened up and we got better glimpses of Benicia. At .36 miles, we took an unnamed trail on the left that led into a eucalyptus grove. On the maps, it looks like the trail only goes in about 400ft. So I assumed it would lead to a lookout point. Instead, we were hiking through a pretty thick forest. I was disappointed. But at about .60 miles, after a short climb out of the grove, we got amazing views across to Benicia. At .70 miles, we reconnected with the Loop Trail. The picnic area at .75 miles is a great spot to stop and eat lunch. If you don’t have a lunch, you should still stop and at least take pictures of the picturesque views of downtown Benicia, the Benicia Bridge, and Mt. Diablo in the background. We pushed on. At .84 miles, we turned left onto an unnamed trailed. It led us through a creepy tree grove, where the trees seemed to be talking to us. But at 1.01 miles, the creepiness dissipated as charming views of Port Costa, accented by St. Patricks Roman Catholic Church, greeted us. At 1.18 miles, we turned left and reconnected with the Loop Trail. Now the moo’s that we faintly heard earlier were loud and clear. If that wasn’t enough to tell us that cows were nearby, the now very frequent cow pies tipped us off. At 1.38 miles we turned left onto an unnamed trail that immediately started a climb. At the top of this climb, the highest point of this hike, the world opened up and we were given a panoramic view of Vallejo/Benicia. There was also a mysterious(at least to us) circular crater at the top of the hill. We made our way to the other side of the crater and started our descent, which was as steep if not steeper. At 1.68, we closed our loop with the Loop Trail and retraced our steps to the trailhead. We all agreed that though it was a hike that was filled with great views, it was very short and well below the difficulty level which we enjoy. Pros: Very scenic, no crowds(we encounter only two other people, and one of them was in the parking lot), clean toilet, picnic area, no fees Cons: Very short, not enough elevation gain/change, too much poop on the trails Conclusion: Everyone should visit this park at least once. If you live on the other side of the bridge, bring a couple of friends so you can use carpool. Even though I liked it, I probably won’t return.
Rah F.
Classificação do local: 5 Walnut Creek, CA
A beautiful enjoyable hike about 3.3 miles and it goes by fast, not to many people so its perfect for me to walk my dog who is not sociable at the moment lol. there is a nice view once you reach the top of the brige and Martinez/Vallejo. There is a bench you can sit and enjoy and eat and relax.
Darren M.
Classificação do local: 3 Sacramento, CA
Sicky Gnar Gnar Bro.
Dezus M.
Classificação do local: 4 Vallejo, CA
Free fishing no license nice little park and some trails
Meg W.
Classificação do local: 4 East Bay, CA
We had a perfectly enjoyable picnic here. There’s a deteriorating old brick building. You can watch tugboats and trains whiz by. The picnic area was clean.
