Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park — Attraction in Union City

We took the Tolman Peak Trail starting the parking lot near dry creek cottage and it was a delightful, dog friendly 6 mile moderate trail round trip. The bay experienced a monsoon week until 2 days ago so the road was a bit muddy. Had to cross 2 creeks on the trail so hiking shoes with somewhat waterproof features and trekking poles are recommended but not required. First half of the trail was a ranch with bunch of cows and horses and the other half was pretty steep trail on the hill, which makes a good balance of leisure and cardio. Once you step on the hill, the scenery becomes less shaded and more wide-angled. The bay just hit early spring but I saw a bunch of professional photographer groups shorting the stream and grasses already. When you gets higher and higher, there are much less people make there which is also my favorite part. This could be a substitute for mission peak if you would like to avoid crowds but still would like to get 1000ft elevation. Recommend to start early(we started at 9ish) before the sun rises high up and gets hot, but you can always turn back whenever you feel like, no pressure. The trail, combined with the south ridge trail, can make a loop. The trail itself, though, ends with a fence after you pass the tree at the highest point of...

I'm always on the search for the most beautiful views in the East Bay and I would most definitely say that Garin is on the top 3 list! Parking is plentiful and is usually $5 if you come on the weekends. But there are a lot of spaces and I never have trouble finding a spot. Garin is a lovely park to have a picnic and to hang out with the whole family. There are benches and bbq grills set out and I often see family gatherings on the weeks. Not to mention, it's dog friendly so you can bring your furry friend with ya! The park is very green (at least for now) from all the rain and there is plenty to do, whether you are an amateur hiker or a hardcore cardio person. They have both flat trails and steep hills. The best part about the steep hills is the view at the very top that overlooks the Bay. It's breathtaking and truly serene. It's generally not too crowded here which makes it even better when you want a peaceful moment with a...

Another fabulous East Bay hiking trail that is kid and dog-friendly. Park at the "STAGING AREA" which is a little tip that I'm just figuring out. Most parks in the Bay have various staging areas that are basically parking lots for hiking folk. We hiked this free park today and it was easy to moderate in terms of incline/terrain, with zero shade (so wintertime is best) and open plains/hill views. We only hiked about 2.0 miles because we turned back when it started to rain, but I loved that these were basically longer hikes that would end up being 4.0 miles+. There's a loop trail that we mainly followed, and it looks like good panoramic views once you get to the top. I loved that it was dog-friendly, and there were signs that said to keep your dogs on a leash when cattle were present. Most dogs we passed were on leash, but some were off. We let ours off when we didn't see other animals or people. Nice...