Siesta Valley Recreation Area - UnlimitedTranscription

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Siesta Valley is odd. Part of the water district’s land right outside Orinda, the permit requirement and general low population in the immediate surrounding area keeps it quieter than East Bay parkland in the hills closer to Berkeley and Oakland, but the views from the shoulder of the valley are no less impressive. If it weren’t for the Wilder Ranch subdivision, you’d barely know you’re in the middle of one of the country’s biggest metropolitan areas.

The initial climb out of Orinda can seem steep, and the EBMUD gravel maintenance road is perhaps maintained more for practicality than scenery, but the views right before dipping over into Siesta Valley of the Carquines Strait and the reservoirs north of Orinda are fantastic, and the tranquility of the valley itself even moreso. After hiking past a eucalyptus grove and into Cal’s hill land, a steep descent down through Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve back into Berkeley awaits.

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The climb up Tunnel and Caldecott Roads came first, then through Hiller Highlands up to Grizzly Peak Boulevard, a solid 1200 feet higher, and back over the Fish Ranch / Claremont slope, where it looked like this.

Explore Siesta Valley Recreation Area’s most popular trails with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions, as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.Siesta Valley is very quiet and so serene. City noise and freeway noise are kept out by the contours of the land, and on a lazy weekday afternoon you would definitely want having a nice nap.

In Sibley Volcanic Preserve, you’ll see the Gudde Range, with Round Top on the horizon. The steppes in the rock are the enormous roadcut for Route 24. To the left, over the ridge, is Siesta Valley.

The path leads up and over the valley ‘s eastern wall at an elevation of approximately 1500 feet, then it is a steep 1000-foot drop down to Orinda. This is the North view. There is the cattle pool, since these slopes are grazed by cattle.The verdict: Siesta Valley is a challenge to reach on foot but that is your only choice as all kinds of vehicles are banned on EBMUD land. It is an obscure piece of land requiring a permit, but it is a beautiful spot. With rocks!

Siesta Valley is watershed land under the control of East Bay MUD, so please make sure to have your hiking permit at all times. The De Laveaga Trail runs from the top of the valley, at the Scotts Peak Trailhead, along the valley’s north flank. (It’s named for one of Orinda’s founding families) Don’t take the wrong way, which is going straight down the valley floor on the dirt extension of Wilder Road, which leads to the back side of the Cal Shakespeare center. That meant a steep descent and subsequent climb of a few hundred feet on a pretty wet road. Along the way, you will see some bedrock of the Siesta Formation that you don’t want to miss.The trail drops down a ways before making a final climb up to the Skyline Trail, near Tilden Park. There are scattered groves of eucalyptus trees (that have been thinned) and it is increasingly lush as you approach the summit. After some good climbing, and about 1.8 miles, you’ll reach a gate and a sort of pass into the Siesta Valley Recreation Area. Just past the gate, there is a little trail to the left that goes out to Hump Peak at 1540ft – an excellent view point. Continue into the Siesta Valley. This is the most scenic part of the hike and you might feel like you have a whole hidden valley to yourself! Just follow the signs to stay on the trail, and the views get better and better as you climb higher and higher! If you don’t complain about all the climbing at least once, then you’re in better shape than me! You may encounter cows, but I haven’t yet, and during one section you’ll hike under high voltage power lines. Not where you want to stop and have a picnic.Once you reach the Skyline Trail, I like to take a left until I reach a gate adjacent to Grizzly Peak Blvd. This is actually called the Scotts Peak Trailhead (or Skyline Gardens Trailhead?) and you can continue on a trail across the street if you want to reach an awesome view point looking out over the Bay. But normally, I just turn around and head back the way I came.

The trail is named after the deLaveaga train station, the eastern end of the old California & Nevada Railroad that ran from 1891 until 1904 between Emeryville and Orinda, hauling farm produce and passengers. On Sundays, trainloads of folks took the train to Orinda to picnic! The station was named after the deLaveaga family & property where the station was located. Today, the refurbished station is located near the onramp to Highway 24 and a fun place to check out.

One time my wife and I left our home in Lafayette on foot (Burton Valley), took BART to Orinda, and then hiked the De Laveaga, with backpacks, over the hill all the way to the Claremont Hotel! I love cooking up these types of “urban adventures”! At the hotel, they started telling us about parking our car, but we didn’t have one.

The De Laveaga Trail climbs roughly three miles from near downtown Orinda (elevation 460ft) to the Bay Area Ridge Trail & East Bay Skyline Trail adjacent to Grizzly Peak Blvd (elevation almost 1600ft).The trail starts out as a pleasant single track through a wooded area for maybe half a mile, but soon leaves the trees behind as it connects with a fire road that winds its way up the hill.

Located just down the hill is the California Shakespeare Theater (CalShakes). Seeing a Shakespeare play or other performance there in the summer makes for a wonderful evening. Just dress warmly!

Last week I attempted the Rockridge-to-Orinda ramble by a northern route. Was strenuous, but it got me into Siesta Valley, a place I’ve had my eye on for years, for the first time. At this time of year the sun is so low that the light is terrific.I’ve lived in Moraga and Orinda since moving here from NY as a lad of 13 years old back in 1976 until I went off to college (UC DAVIS and Cal) in 1981. My parents continued to line in Orinda until the late 90’s and that and a girlfriend in Orinda had me skulking around there for a while after too. I’ve since lived in Albany from around 2001. Always explored Tilden, San Palo Reservoir area and Briones plus the Upper San Leandro Reservoir areas widely but this Siesta Valley has always alluded me even as I watched them build the small staging areas many years ago along Camino Pablo across from the Chevron station and the Safeway. Your gorgeous photos have my interest piqued perhaps it’s highest in the 40 years to finally explore this area though now at 53 years old and carrying perhaps 20-30 pounds more than I should be I hesitate some on your description of the hike. Some day (soon!). Thanks for another great post.First came the climb up Tunnel and Caldecott Roads, then through Hiller Highlands up to Grizzly Peak Boulevard, a good 1200 feet higher, then down across the Fish Ranch/Claremont saddle, where it looked like this.

Siesta Valley is very quiet. City noise and freeway noise are kept out by the contours of the land, and on a lazy weekday afternoon I could see myself having a nice nap.Siesta Valley is watershed land under the control of East Bay MUD, so I made sure to have my hiking permit with me. Not a soul was around, but it’s a good habit. The De Laveaga Trail runs from the top of the valley, at the Scotts Peak Trailhead, along the valley’s north flank. (It’s named for one of Orinda’s founding families — see the comments.) I took the wrong way, going straight down the valley floor on the dirt extension of Wilder Road, which leads to the back side of the Cal Shakespeare center. That meant a steep descent and subsequent climb of a few hundred feet on a pretty wet road, but I saw some bedrock of the Siesta Formation I’d otherwise have missed.

That’s Gudde Ridge, in Sibley Volcanic Preserve, with Round Top on the horizon. The stairsteps in the rock are the huge roadcut for Route 24. Siesta Valley is to my left, over the ridge.

This entry was posted on 2 January 2017 at 8:02 am and is filed under Oakland geology views, Oakland geology walks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

The trail leads up and over the east wall of the valley at about 1500 feet elevation, then it’s a steep 1000-foot plunge down to Orinda. This is the view north. The cattle pond is there because cattle graze these slopes.The verdict: Siesta Valley is a challenge to reach on foot, but that’s your only choice as vehicles of all kinds are forbidden on EBMUD land. It’s an obscure piece of land that requires a permit, but it’s a gorgeous place. With rocks! As I raced the sunset, downtown Orinda looked inviting. This is a harsh downhill, though. Uphill would be worse, I think. Nothing to do but try it sometime. [I’m glad I’m not the only nut to do this walk. Many thanks for the links and the name correction; I know almost nothing about Orinda’s history except that it once had its own oil well. — Andrew]According to users from AllTrails.com, the best place to hike in Siesta Valley Recreation Area is De La Veaga Trail, which has a 4.3 star rating from 315 reviews. This trail is 10.5 km long with an elevation gain of 565 m.Most people in the East Bay, particularly people living in Oakland or Berkeley, know the Little Train well. If you have parked near the Little Train, the Bay Area Ridge Trail is best accessed by hiking south to the Siesta Valley Recreation Area. You’ll arrive at the Scott’s Peak Trailhead after about 20 minutes. Since it takes the shape of a well-groomed dirt track, the trail is easy to find and easy to follow. The high quality and distinct design of this dirt road trail is close to that of the East Ridge Trail, located a few miles south of the Siesta Valley Recreation Area in Redwood Regional Park.