Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve — Attraction in Orinda

First time I saw a photograph of the stunning Labyrinth in Sibley Volcanic Park I imagined I must be looking at an image of neolithic earthworks… But an inscription on the back of of the photo said “Sibley Regional Park Oakland, CA” I was flabbergasted. It took me about 2 years to figure out exactly where this was (in 1998, before Google had taken over the map world)…

The location of the Labyrinth was not on any park map, because it was “not officially sanctioned or a historically old enough feature”. Now it is on a few park signs.

Once found I’ve taken many people there. When we visit in the SPRING it’s particularly awe-inspiring there’s a shallow VERNAL POOL, which covers half the bottom of the old quarry. This time of year it’s teaming with LIFE. Redwing blackbirds and other marshy birds fill the air with their mating songs, Spring peepers fill the cool night air with their amphibious chorus… Newts and Salamanders have gathering under water, breeding and protecting their eggs ! It’s the beauty of biodiversity embodied !! And THEN there is the beautiful Labyrinth

Bring a small offering to leave in the Center but LEAVE the DOGS at HOME

This pool is so FRAGILE and dogs just wreak havoc on the new & delicate life there !

But DO bring a human friend to share...

I grew up in the area I have been going out to the Labyrinths since I was a teenager. I have a ritual where I walk out to the main labyrinth barefoot and leave a small offering to mark key moments in my life. I hope to be able to do that into old age.

The best time of year to go there is spring, when flowers are in bloom and everything is lush green. The rest of the year it is like a dry, rocky desert. There usually aren't too many people around, allowing for a contemplative experience. There is a hill out there that we used to call Hammock hill because at the top there is an old grove of Bay trees and there used to be a big hammock strung up there between two of them. One of these days I will put a new hammock there.

Much of the park allows dogs off-leash. I have seen rattlesnakes in Sibley so please do watch out for them. I have also seen Coyotes so be careful if you have a little dog. Big dogs probably are ok but if your dog is smaller than around 30 lbs then Coyotes might be in the bushes waiting for an opportunity to get it. Usually a Coyote will not attack in the open trail but it might try to lure your curious dog into the bushes where the rest of...

I was for a drive when I stumbled across Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. This place is amazing! I'm familiar of Grizzley Peak Rd. I've driven that road several times but at night. Even at night the scene is beautiful because of the city lights, spanning from Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley and some parts of Richmond. For sure the Bay Bridge is visible because of the lights shining on and across its span. The drive I was taking was during the day at noon and there was some crowd all over this place. There's a few parks that I noticed but I never stopped to enjoy what they really had to offer. Although I did see some parking available, restrooms and some picknic tables. The day was gorgeous and the view is amazing, very breath taking and I'm not speaking about the T.V. show. The homes there , I could tell are high up in real estate value. It just reminded me of how poor I am and that it was time to end this ride and head on home to the rest of the people living below this other world I forget existed. One day I said to myself, I'll have a friend who lives up here and they'll invite me over and I can feel good but mostly remind myself again of...