Skyline Gate Staging Area — Attraction in Piedmont

The trails of the East Bay are arguably some of the most underrated in the Bay Area. Skyline Gate Staging Area is one of the main access points to some of the best and most popular trails the East Bay has to offer.

There is a small parking lot here that offers free parking all day (during park hours). It does get busy on weekends year round and in the evenings through summer. There is the option to park on the street if the lot is full but do so with caution. Leave enough space for emergency vehicles to pass, don't block residents driveways, and make sure nothing is left in the car. Break-ins on the road are frequent.

There are two toilets and a drinking fountain in the lot, as well as an information board and paper maps. Do a little research on the route you want to take before arriving because there is A LOT of trails to choose from.

Stream Trail and French Trail tend to be the most popular, I highly recommend Starflower, Tres Sendas, and Chown. For those wanting to venture further afield, be sure to take the West Ridge Trail and head all the way down to...

There’s not many places you can bring your dog on trails in redwoods, so this hike is high on my list of favorites in the East Bay! Plan your path in advance, there’s so many trails and you can end up figure 8’ing around a bit sometimes 🙋🏽‍♀️ and end up doing a few more miles than you intended 🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️. Heading down from this parking lot to Stream trail is fairly gradual, wide, and not necessarily groomed but good enough for a couple of people I saw to take their strollers down. It’s about 3/4mi down until you get to the redwoods, then it’s a casual stroll on a wide trail through the redwoods. For the amount of cars parked in the parking lot, I was shocked at how few people I saw, especially once I started heading up the hills on the smaller trails. There were picnic tables down by the currently empty stream, and I bet early spring is such a great time to come back and see the stream and valley so full of life. The offshoot trails from Stream can be steep at times, but a great workout. Overall, family friendly hike for all ages, and of course, dog friendly....

A large parking area, often full and requiring parking on adjacent streets (not a big problem since spots are available), leads to both the East Ridge and West Ridge Trails. You can take the East Ridge Trail and do a 2-mile out-and-back hike. There are significant ups and downs so that you will get your exercise. Phillips Loop, a spur trail, will get you back and forth with a little more effort. If you want to be a little more adventurous, you can walk out on the West Ridge Trail until you get to French Trail. If you take the French Trail, you will descend through the Oak and Madrone until you get to the Redwood part of the park. Surrounded by a forest of Redwoods with ferns covering the hillside, you can wander through this amazing park and explore streams running through the quiet canyons. All this is about 45 minutes from downtown Oakland. It is...