Round Valley Regional Preserve — Attraction in Brentwood

This is one of my favorite places to run--in fact this is one of my go to places.

The park is a multi-use park. It is common to see runners, hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Dogs are not allowed. The park is connected to Los Vaqueros and Morgan Territory via the Miwok Trail (about three miles in). Periodically this connection will be closed down for Golden Eagle nesting. Los Vaqueros has gravel paving and connects to a large reservoir. Morgan Territory is a very tough climb (recommend treking poles)--but you are rewarded by connecting to the greater Mount Diablo park systems.

The Hardy Trail has a nice elevation change--going up about 750 feet. It connects to both the Miwok trail and to the Meadow Trail.

In winter the last portion of the Miwok Trail gets chewed up by cows. I would recommend using the Meadow Trail as an alternative. Hills get green after the first couple of substantial rains.

In summer, this park can be hotter than hell. Please bring water--I have seen people evacted by helicopter--probably not the way to spend your day. The park has drinkable water at the trail head--but no where else. There are multiple horse water tanks.

There are quite a few coyote around--make noise when you see them. Don't let this steer you away from this park. They will avoid you. I love coming to the park at sunrise and listening to the coyotes howling. It is one of the few places to see a Kit Fox. Very common to see eagles and hawks. A couple of times I have seen Boar here--but always at a distance. In summer you may see Rattlers and other snakes--leave them be. The trails are wide and you'll be able to avoid them. In spring the valley has a ton of wildflowers.

Couple of hike/runs I do: -- Miwok out and back. 6 miles with 400 feet of climbing (mostly at start) -- Miwok to Los Vaqueros 13.1M with just under 1000 feet of climbing. Miwok trail to Adobe Trail (in Los V). Take left on Peninsula Trail and wrap around the reservoir. You'll climb up a hill and turn around at the bench. --Miwok Trail to end of Round Valley and back to Meadow Trail and back on Miwok. 6.25M with 530 feet of climbing. --Round Valley Hardy to Miwok to Murphy Meadow and Back. 8M with 1200 feet of climbing.

The trail head has a very large parking lot for both horse trailers and cars. there is restroom, picnic tables, maps and water. Cell phone (sprint) coverage is available at the trail head. It gets more spotty around the hills/mountains. The park has a auto-opening gate and opens at 8am (I believe that changes through out the year). If you get there before opening you can park on Marsh Creek Road.

The rangers do a nice job of maintaining this park--with very...

The jewel of the East Bay Regional Park District, Round Valley offers lots of options for your outdoor excursions. You can go on several different hikes. From the parking lot, take a left and you'll start the roughly 6 mile loop that goes up and over Hardy Canyon, that has about 800 feet of climbing, so be prepared. If you'd like a more relaxed walk, you can head right from the parking lot, and walk about two only slightly up and down miles to the namesake round valley, which has expansive views of the shelf of hills to the west that make up Morgan Territory. From there, you can explore the flat valley trails that have golden hills on all sides. Hiking from February to May is highly beautiful, as the grass turns a vibrant green, making the experience come alive with color. For longer hikes, you can connect to the southwest to both Morgan Territory, and Los Vaqueros. These three parks offer miles and miles of natural preserves, where you can spend hours observing animals, finding dozens of species of flowers, hiking or riding to your heart's content, and even staying overnight at a backpacking site. It's truly a...

Very nice park for hiking, biking and horse riding. Easy climbs and well maintained trails. I saw 4 horses when I was here today, with a moderate amount of poop to watch out for, but they were very nice, and also saw several hikers during the day. Area is exposed to sun in many areas around the valley, with sparce scattered trees, so bring sunscreen and lots of water and be prepared, as it's 2 miles back to the parking area. There area numerous singletrack trails that parallel the fire trail for bikes and several other singletracks for hiking only around the main hill in the park. Several areas for horse water and picnic tables scatter throughout the park. 7+ mile fire trail loop from parking area around the valley with access to Fox Trail trail as side spur up to park boundary, plus other fire trails like Miwok trail into Los Vaqueros and Morgan Territory parks. There is even a camping area at far end of park, a few pics attached of it, there is a pit toilet bathroom, non potable water spigots and 8+ picnic tables, horse tie up area but...