Trails

September Happenings 2024

Butterflies spotted in the Canyon! Winning voter approval of Measure MM, the Wildfire Prevention Zone on November 5th is critical. Join the Garber Park Stewards as they celebrate Creek to Bay Day on September 21st. Volunteer in the Upper Canyon with your group of friends or company team. (Click to learn more)

July Happenings 2024

The East Bay Wildfire Coalition will have its second meeting on Monday, July 8th at 9a.m. The meeting will be held at El Cerrito City Hall but you are invited to participate on Zoom (Check this post for the zoom link). It’s also summer and we are starting to see thimbleberries on thimbleberry plants. They have a pleasant, tart taste, a favorite of people and other mammals as well as many birds. Read more about how to best identify this plant!

June Happenings 2024

Summer has arrived and we are seeing many butterflies fluttering in the Canyon, native plants in bloom, and many people hiking the trails!

May Happenings 2024

Take a look at this flock of lesser goldfinches. An East Bay region-wide approach got off to a great start! In an effort to mitigate wildfire risks, the East Bay Regional Park District conducted a controlled burn on their park district property.

April Happenings 2024

Celebrate Earth Month in the canyon! Join community members on a bird walk in the Upper Canyon and a plant walk in Garber Park. Join volunteer opportunities in April. Did you know it’s bird migration season? Read about the earthquake with its epicenter in Garber Park.

March Happenings 2024

Our March happenings of 2024 include an opportunity to join the Conservancy board, a look at the abundancy of miner’s lettuce, banana slugs crossing, a special stewardship day with the Claremont Club and Spa, and other fun volunteer opportunities in the Canyon!

February Happenings 2024

Visit the Claremont Canyon this month! It's not too late to see ladybugs, banana slugs, and mushrooms along the trails. Explore the trails and join us in a stewardship event. Our various activities include removing invasive plants, maintaining trails, and litter collection.

October Happenings 2023

Look out for banana slugs crossings the trails as you hike this fall. Save the date! Join us at our Annual Meeting, November 12th from 4-6PM at the Claremont Resort and Spa. Looking for volunteer opportunities?

August Happenings 2023

Monkeyflower is in bloom in the Canyon, stewardship efforts near the heritage oak - a 100 year old tree!, volunteer with the Garber Park Stewards and at Signpost 29.

July Happenings 2023 - Advocacy Update

This month’s newsletter includes our response to the June 9, 2023 State Court of Appeals decision, working towards fire safety, East Bay Hills' grassroots advocacy effort, and more!

A wildland-urban hike: Gwin Canyon to Garber Park by Sandy Friedland

(Note: Do this hike with a friend because two cars are required for a short shuttle.)

This moderately difficult 3.5-mile route begins at Signpost 29 and finishes at the Claremont Avenue end of Garber Park. The hike traverses parkland trails and parts of the neighborhoods above the Claremont Hotel, where many of the lovely houses were rebuilt after the 1991 Berkeley-Oakland Hills fire.

Trail Map at Domingo and Claremont Avenues, by Jon Kaufman

Building and maintaining trails in Claremont Canyon is the Conservancy’s way of inviting area residents to experience the joy of living in the wildland-urban interface. We think it will help remind people that responsibility comes with the pleasure of living here. We need to care for our environment by making our wildland accessible and by removing invasive plants and keeping it as firesafe as possible.


New trail signs installed, by Jon Kaufman

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With thanks to Tom Klatt we now have a new trail marker where the Gwin Canyon Trail meets the Willow Trail just down the steps from Signpost 29. We installed the trail marker during our January stewardship day. We are hopeful that the Park District will add a trail sign of their own at the other end of the Gwin Canyon Trail where it meets Norfolk Road. Conservancy volunteers continue their work to make the trail easier to traverse by installing more steps and water bars and making a part of the trail less steep. We also will be installing logs along the edge to reduce erosion. Finally, the University has just improved the area just outside the gate at Signpost 29, making it safer to pull over and park.

Outing with the Park District trails managers

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Conservancy members recently hosted a tour of Claremont Canyon with planners from the East Bay Regional Park District's Trails Development team, including trails manager Sean Dougan and Ward 2 Board Member Dee Rosario. We hiked up the Conservancy's new Gwin Canyon trail connecting Park District and UC lands, then headed over to the Stonewall-Panoramic Ridge Trail to assess its steepest section just below Panoramic Way. We are hoping the Park District will build switchbacks on this degraded section of trail for increased safety and accessibility to hikers. We'll keep you informed as progress develops.

The Garber Park interpretative brochure journey, by Shelagh Brodersen and Lech Naumovich

Several years ago, Garber Park Stewards and Golden Hour Restoration Institute first tossed around the idea of creating an interpretative brochure that would enrich the experience of visiting Garber Park. We wanted to create a document that was engaging and informative for all park users—first timers as well as regular visitors.

New life for a not-so-hidden trail, guest post by Jim Rosenau

A heavily used foot path into the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve was recently upgraded by a volunteer trail crew, Take To The Hills. T3H was formed two years ago by Steve Glaeser and myself to build stairways and make the trail safer for travel. Though the trail does not appear on any existing Park District or UC map, was never formally engineered, and was scarcely maintained, it has, for years, attracted both casual and experienced hikers traveling between Dwight Way and Panoramic Hill. Often misunderstood as belonging