Tilden Regional Park
Encyclopedia
Tilden Regional Park, also known as "Tilden" (icon), is a 2079 acres (841.3 ha) regional park
Regional park
Regional park is a term used for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.-Definition:...
in the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
, part of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is situated between the Berkeley Hills
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
and San Pablo Ridge
San Pablo Ridge
San Pablo Ridge is a small mountain range in western Contra Costa County from Pinole to Orinda between Wildcat Canyon and San Pablo Canyon. The western flank is part of the Wildcat Creek watershed and the eastern flank is part of the San Pablo Creek watershed. It is used by ranches for...
.
Tilden Regional Park was named in honor of Charles Lee Tilden
Charles Lee Tilden
Charles Lee Tilden was an attorney and businessman in the San Francisco Bay Area who served on the first Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District...
, a Bay Area attorney and businessman who purchased much of the land in order to preserve remaining wilderness areas for public enjoyment. Tilden also served on the first Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District.
Location
The park is managed by the East Bay Regional Park DistrictEast Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, created from the first land the district purchased in 1936. It is largely located within unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
. An AC Transit
AC Transit
AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...
bus from the Berkeley BART station runs into the park on weekends. Its steep valleys and dense stands of timber offer a rare wilderness experience so close to the city. Its high ridges and peaks give wide views over the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
and inland across other preserved land to Mount Diablo.
Attractions
The park contains numerous trailTrail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s, providing facilities for hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, horseback riding and bicycling. In addition to major areas of wilderness, the park includes attractions such as a model farm, an environment
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
al educational building, a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, a ridable miniature steam railway
Redwood Valley Railway
The Redwood Valley Railway is a ridable miniature railroad in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, California . It was established in 1952 by Erich Thomsen, and has expanded to 1.25 miles of track and over 160,000 passengers a year....
, and the Regional Parks Botanic Garden
Regional Parks Botanic Garden
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a 10 acre botanical garden located in Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills, east of Berkeley, California, in the United States. It showcases California native plants, and is open to the public in daylight hours every day of the year except New Year's Day,...
. Another noteworthy attraction is the old-fashioned Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round
Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round
The Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round is a carousel located in Tilden Park near Berkeley, California. It was built by the Herschel-Spillman Company of Tonawanda, New York in 1911, and it is one of the few true antiques left in the United States. Before arriving at Tilden in 1948, the carousel had seen...
. It is a true antique and one of the few left in the US.
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
) that begins at Inspiration Point on the eastern edge of the park and heads north along the ridge of the hills, crossing into Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is a East Bay Regional Parks District park located within the city limits of Richmond in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
about two miles (3 km) in and ending at a peak above El Sobrante. Nimitz Way is very popular with hikers, runners and bicyclists, in part because it is paved and not very steep. From Nimitz Way there are excellent views of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to the west, EBMUD’s San Pablo
San Pablo Reservoir
The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the valley of San Pablo Creek, north of Orinda, California and south of El Sobrante and Richmond, east of the Berkeley Hills between the Sobrante...
& Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the hills northeast of Orinda, California. The earthen dam was completed in 1964...
s, along with Mt. Diablo to the east. Unknown to most of the folks who travel this trail, the two-mile section that is in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is a East Bay Regional Parks District park located within the city limits of Richmond in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
was a Nike missile base which was decommissioned in the 1970s. Today there are few signs of the missile silos and military housing that used to populate these hills.
Land and water features
Wildcat Canyon
Wildcat Canyon is a narrow linear valley just east of the Berkeley Hills in the San Francisco Bay Area, situated in Contra Costa County, California. The canyon is bounded on its east side by the San Pablo Ridge, and is drained by Wildcat Creek which runs northwest to its outlet in San Pablo Bay. ...
which is also the location of Lake Anza
Lake Anza
Lake Anza is a recreational swimming reservoir in Tilden Regional Park, which is located in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California.The lake was developed with the building of a small dam in 1938. It was named by the East Bay Regional Park Board in honor of Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de...
. Lake Anza is about 300 metres (984.3 ft) long, and the water is somewhat clear. The lake is a good place to go swimming as well as other activities. Jewel Lake
Jewel Lake
Jewel Lake is a former reservoir and artificual lake along Wildcat Creek, a small stream in Northern California in Tilden Regional Park. It is located in the Wildcat Canyon between the Berkeley Hills and Sobrante Ridge Hills in an unincorporated area closest to Richmond and Kensington, California...
, smaller than Anza, is accessible only by trail.
San Pablo Ridge
San Pablo Ridge is a small mountain range in western Contra Costa County from Pinole to Orinda between Wildcat Canyon and San Pablo Canyon. The western flank is part of the Wildcat Creek watershed and the eastern flank is part of the San Pablo Creek watershed. It is used by ranches for...
. The western boundary nearly follows the crest of the Berkeley Hills
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
. The East Bay Skyline National Trail runs just inside the park.
Parts of the park land had been cleared for agricultural use. In many places, exotic trees such as Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
), have been planted. There are also some relatively recently planted stands of Giant Sequoia. However, current conservation efforts are aimed at restoring native vegetation so far as possible, and significant parts of the park are covered in native coastal scrub. The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is located within Tilden, and features rare and endangered California flora.
During the 1930s, a WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
camp was situated in Tilden Park.
Popular Trails
Tilden Regional Park offers a range of hiking trails most of which are dog-friendly. Dogs are not permitted in the Tilden Nature Area to the north of the park. Some of the main trails (in addition to Nimitz Way) include:Meadows Canyon-Curran-Wildcat Canyon loop - A 1.43 mile steady, but not steep, climb from Lone Oak Road which is just off Central Park Dr. At the top, Meadows Canyon connects with Curran trail which meanders downhill to Wildcat Gorge trail. To the left, it is a short walk to Lake Anza
Lake Anza
Lake Anza is a recreational swimming reservoir in Tilden Regional Park, which is located in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California.The lake was developed with the building of a small dam in 1938. It was named by the East Bay Regional Park Board in honor of Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de...
. To the right, the trail returns to take a right on Wildcat Gorge trail, it returns to the Lone Oak parking area. The total distance is a little under 3 miles.
East Bay Skyline Ridge Trail (or Seaview Trail) - This trail provides views of San Francisco Bay to the West and Mt. Diablo to the East. It can be an out-and-back from the parking lot near the Steam Trains off of Grizzly Peak Blvd. accessed via Seaview Trail or from the opposite end off of Wildcat Canyon Road's Quarry parking area via Seaview Trail. It is approximately 2.7 miles end-to-end.
South Park Drive - The road that runs between Wildcat Canyon Road at the Botanic Gardens to Grizzly Peak Blvd. closes from 1 November to 31 March annually to protect the migration process for a Newt. It is available for hiking.