Old Borges Ranch

Went on a nice loop trail this afternoon. Great weather, great view. The ranch is super cute — takes you right to how it was 100 years ago… will come again, for sure!

I went down a road that seemed suitable as one lane so I don’t know how it would work if someone came from the other direction. Luckily, I didn’t have to find out.
I went down this road and there were signs of Old Borges Ranch and I followed it until that’s where I ended up. There were a row of parking spots. You can walk around and check it out. You’re welcomed to go in the pens with the animals at you own risk. meaning if something happens, it’s your fault.
I’ve seen many goat screaming like a human videos on YouTube and I was so amused to walk around and hear this very sound of goats that sound like humans screaming coming from the pens.
.but all I saw were goats and chickens.

Love the spot. Beautiful for hiking, great for sunsets, and usually not too many people around. It’s fun to see the little historic farm, and definitely a great spot for a picnic.

Way cool sweet old historic ranch. Some farm animals. JUST BE CAREFUL when you drive in here with a NARROW windy road, GO SLOW. It’s just a way cool place to hang out, down below before you get to Borges Ranch is a picnic table and restrooms. Some many great hiking trails here to.

We love Borges Ranch! Kids adore the animals, try to feed the goats the figs when they are in season, and sit on the tractors. We meet up with folks all the time, it’s a great place to occupy the kids while waiting. The hikes themselves are beautiful and varied, with the trails connecting to regional park and Mt. Diablo if you really want a trek. Spring is gorgeous, summer is deadly in the heat of the day so come early or late. We bike here, we hike here, we run the dogs here. Great place. Thankfully Walnut Creek has preserved open space and treasures it.
If you bring your dogs, remember to bring bags and not be those awful people who give the rest of us a bad rap.

Old Borges Ranch is great place to get a good work out. I’ve been here only twice in my life, but the incline on the hills do help your calves and thigh muscles! It connects to castle rock park as well, so you’ll have plenty of land to cover! Check it out.

We went here for a Cub Scouts’ spring camp out. To get to our campsite, we had to travel quite a way on what seemed to be like a one lane road to the campsite after we got off the freeway and off the main country road. Of course, it was also a time for me to get holy and talk to God at this time and pray that nobody else was approaching on the road. Yeah, who has the right of way on a one lane road? I have to thank my hubby more for driving the family everywhere as I play my part as Miss. Daisy.
Anyway, this place is very lovely and rustic. It’s a short drive from San Ramon so not much complaints of «Are we there yet» from the kids. They have the old Borges Ranch which shows what I can imagine were the bygone days of Gunsmoke and Little House on the Prairie. There are various animal pen lots (goats, sheep, pigs, and chicken), a barn, a blacksmith house, numerous outbuildings, an old fashioned outdoor school setting display, and many unrestored farm machinery equipment displays. The house wasn’t open the weekend we were there, but we peeked into the many windows in awe of what life was like back in the day. We also lay yonder and followed the fresh poop trails. So I give thanks to the rooster’s lively and nagging cock a doodle doo every minute shooing us up and out or our tents around five and six in the morning. I wanted to strangle that cock who nags everyone up so early at the break of dawn, but then I must wonder if I sound like him when I try to wake my kids and husband up during the week for school and work. Perhaps I was an annoying cock in my past life? So perhaps I should not hate the cock, but celebrate his lovely shrill on repeat that can make my ears’ hair vibrate.
Note for campers: we were thinking of pitching our tent under the shady tree until some of the wise men/​other Den Leaders informed us that rattlesnakes like to chill out there. Please note there are rattlesnakes in this area. So we moved our tent location far away from the trees which was the open ground sunny area. Thank God for rattlesnakes who can shake their tail to let us know it’s not cool to hang out with them. It would be nice if all snakes could give us such a warning.
Kids and adults had a lot of fun. We did free play throwing around the good old flying saucer/​frisbee, crafting a make your own rocket and then launching it in another competition, performing our skit and watching other Cub Scouts’ skits, and enjoying a lovely group dinner of bread, salad, and spaghetti pasta with meatballs. The boys and families had fun as we wrapped up the night with hot chocolate and homemade smores. I really relish the idea of being away from technology and just being free, using one’s imagination, and having a homey time talking to others and getting to know one another outside the hustle and bustle of our crammed schedules and suburban life. No Real Housewives of San Ramon drama here.
So yes, I would recommend this place or any camping journey for a nice time travel back to the early 1900s. It’s nice to get out of the hustle and bustle and just imagine. I think I would have really dug living in such an era as I am an old soul. If you are not a camper nor enjoy camping, it’s nice to come out here to hike and get a panoramic view of the Castle Rock area up in the Walnut Creek Open Space.
Here’s some other important information if you and/​or family are interested in doing a weekend tour:
Hours: The ranch area is open for viewing daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Self-​guided tour brochures are available at the Ranger Station. Free weekend tours. Learn what it was like to live and work on a family ranch in the late 19^th and early 20^th Century. Join the Park Ranger for a guided tour of the Old Borges Ranch by meeting at the Hanna Grove Activity Area parking lot on the fourth Saturday of each month at 2 p.m. Educational Programs are conducted at the ranch for school-​aged children and civic groups.

Dont advertise a ranch and say it is open when there is nothing to look at but a «black smith» barn — with nothing educational. If «open» means we have 2 sets of micro-​barn doors open with black gates locked up tight –well have at it. So unhappy we wasted 20 min driving in and 20 min driving out and an hour to and from WC for crap.

Great place to take the dog for a walk/​hike. It’s off leash once you hit the trails. I really enjoy the options of trails to take. There are ones for the physically fit and others for the not so much. The trails are shared w/​bikers and horse riders. I didn’t see any cattle grazing but some of the woman I went with say there are at times. My only problem is there aren’t enough signs posted to tell you which trail to stay on. I could have easy gotten lost if the woman I went with didn’t know there way back. No water fountains or bathrooms along the way so bring the water and go b/​4 you head for the trails. Also… be aware of horse and cow poop along the trails.

Love this place. I discovered it when I came here hiking with my Sunday hiking group. Kids will love the sheep, chicken, rabbit, pigs and hens on display and adults who appreciate history will like the old farm implements, tool shed, and the 1900’s rancher’s home. Kids can go inside the animal enclosures and pet them if they like. If you are still a child at heart yell «durrrrrrr» to make the sheep yell back at you :)
Being from a farming family myself, I love the sights, smells and sounds of this place. In winter it looks even lovelier with verdant green hills and cows grazing on the pasture. Go here once and chances are, you will want to go back again!

SUCH a beautiful place to take a walk and a trip back in time. The ranch home wasn’t open when we went, but the windows are such that you can easily peek in and look at the artifacts they have organized that show was life was like for the Borges family at the turn of the century. The lambs, goats, chickens are all free to pet, and the barns and sheds and equipment look just as they did. It’s so cool and the lands are gorgeous to wander around. A must-​see in Contra Costa.

A trip along the narrow road to the Borges ranch is a trip back to the time when this part of Contra Costa consisted of isolated ranches and farms. The Borges family first settled on this land in 1899. They built the redwood house, which us still is standing, in 1901. There are also barns, sheds, farm equipment, corrals, and farm animals, Cows graze on the hillside. There is also a seasonal pond.
Driving the narrow road that winds up the hill to the Borges Ranch you will leave the hustle and bustle of urban life and enter farm life in the early 1900s. The ranch is a prime example of the rural cattle ranches that flourished in California in the late 1890s and the early 20^th century.
If you visit this well maintained park you will get a glimpse of that period. It is a great place for both adults and children. If the history doesn’t appeal to you it is also the base for hikes along Shell Ridge Open Space.

The former ranch of early Walnut Creek pioneer Frank Borges is the home base for Walnut Creek’s Shell Ridge Open Space activities. The ranch complex includes a blacksmith shop, numerous outbuildings, and farm equipment displays. It also features a barn and covered trellis available for group reservations. The Borges family home, built in 1901, houses historical displays of the early 1900’s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gayle and I have been here for Heritage Day and recently at the end of a cool 2.5 mile hike that started at the old Howe Homestead. Borges Ranch and the nearly Bob Pond Area is a wonderful place to take the family and explore history among the great outdoors.