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Thru-hiking a National Recreation Trail isn’t easy. Preparing for it is even harder. Backpackers need the right combination of fitness, finances, luck and time. A Pacific Crest thru-hike will set you back about $6,000. Considering the John Muir Trail? Permits are assigned by lottery exactly 168 days in advance. Not to mention the Sierra Nevada snowpack is at roughly 160 percent this year — which is just fantastic after five years of drought, unless your plan was to hike there.
But there is good news for those looking to enjoy the peace of a long hike without the stress of having to negotiate the time, the travel, the gear and bureaucracy. There are more than a thousand other National Recreation Trails in the country — and one of them runs for 32 miles through our own backyard.
The East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail connects Proctor Staging Area in Castro Valley to Alvarado Park in Richmond, taking hikers through oak savanna, redwood forests and over impressive peaks for sweeping bay views. By joining a series of regional parks and preserves — Anthony Chabot, Redwood Regional, Huckleberry, Sibley Volcanic, Tilden and Wildcat Canyon — the trail offers many of the same features adventurous hikers crave in more remote footpaths, with the bonus of easy parking.
No permits required. No foregoing of personal hygiene necessary. No need to carry 20 kilos of gear, cache supplies, locate safe drinking water or dodge bears. The Skyline is every bit the physical challenge of a longer and more distant trail, but without any of the mental or financial stress. And isn’t that what a walk in nature is supposed to be?
If the weather turns foul, duck out. If another trail lures, hike on. Estimated total cost for a thru-hike reckoned in the low double digits.
The trail is exactly the kind of path Benton MacKaye, founder of the Appalachian Trail, would have wanted to hike. In 1921 he called for a system of national trails that would be accessible to all, not just, he said, those “who can afford time and funds for an extended trip in a Pullman car.”
Hiking the Skyline is easy: Keep the bay to one side, the valley to the other and hold that orientation until you reach the other end. Wrong turns almost never are. The trail is well-marked, though occasionally it offers more of a series of suggestions than a single path. Hikers have options to follow higher ridges with views of valleys and of the bay, or they can descend to lower forested trails. It’s up to you.
Starting from the southern terminus at Proctor, on a level with the Redwood Canyon Golf Course, hikers rise and leave behind the tap and thwack of nine irons on dimpled polypropylene, and soon find themselves among song sparrows and twittering wrens. Then on through narrow drowsy corridors of foliage and fern that lead upwards over spines of twisted oak to groves of laurel trees and pine. Northward goes the walk, gaining the heights of grassy hills and the satisfaction of seeing the place from which you started already fading a distant shade of blue.
Sometimes the scenery is all above, as when passing beneath a hush of redwoods. At others, it’s all below, as at Tilden’s appropriately named Inspiration Point. But there are remarkable vistas throughout. Even just the half mile segment connecting Huckleberry to Sibley could merit its own Instagram account.
An experienced hiker at a pace of 3 miles an hour can cover a one-way 32-mile thru-hike in a long summer’s day. But for those looking to break the trail up over several days, you’ll find parking and easy road access at Chabot Space Center, Skyline Gate Staging Area, Sibley Park Main Staging Area and Redwood Valley Railway in Tilden, in addition to myriad other points where the trail crosses smaller roads or connects to other trails. Consult a map for details.
Looking to make a scenic exit on foot? About halfway through the trail, after crossing Grizzly Peak Boulevard just above UC Berkeley, hikers can split from the Skyline and take the Scotts Peak Trailhead down through Claremont Canyon and some impressively framed views of that distant city on the sunset side of the bay.
With those city views — and occasional city sounds — the Skyline isn’t exactly a wilderness experience. But it’s refreshing to find a National Recreational Trail you can access by hailing a cab or catching a local bus. It might not be the ideal choice for those who want to get away from it all, but it’s perfect for those who want to get away from it some.
IF YOU GO
The East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail is accessible via trailheads at Proctor Staging Area in Castro Valley and Alvarado Park in Richmond. Both trailheads have parking and are within 2.5 miles of a BART station.
The trail is well marked, just follow the blazes: a stylized USA, with the S made to look like a river flowing down from distant mountains, and the words “Skyline Trail.”
Looking to duck out halfway? From Chabot Space Center, hikers can take the AC Transit No. 339 bus to Fruitvale BART.
No need to worry about toting along water purification. Still, be sure to stay hydrated and pack a few extra liters. Potable drinking water (and toilets!) are available at Redwood Bowl in Anthony Chabot Regional Park and at the Sibley Volcanic Visitors’ Center.
Dogs are permitted along the entirety of the trail with signs posted to indicate leash/off leash sections.
Hikers can walk the full length but several portions permit cyclists and equestrians as well, and portions of Tilden are open to cattle grazing. Hike safe. Share the trail.
