On a beautiful winter day with the hills turned green, we went for a great little hike in the East Bay Hills! Always looking for new spots to check out, we headed up to Dry Creek Pioneer Park for a nice 5 mile loop! With perfect weather and stunning, still lush, landscapes, what wasn’t there to like?
Miles/Elevation:
5 miles
915 feet vertical gain
About Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park:
Located in Union City California between the cities of Fremont, Hayward, and Pleasanton, Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park is a great spot for hiking and other outdoor activities located right in the East Bay. Together with neighboring Garin Regional Park, the two combine to have over 20 miles of hiking trails set within nearly 6,000 acres of protected land, typified by grass covered rolling hills and wooded valleys.
This is an excellent place to easily get into nature for those living in the busy East Bay!
Getting To The Trailhead:
The trailhead for this hike is the Dry Creek Staging Area located on Mission Blvd on the outskirts of Union City. From the South Bay, take I-880 north past Fremont and exit onto Decoto Road. Take Decoto east towards the hills, then take a left on Mission Blvd. The trailhead will be on the right down a short access road. From Oakland, take I-880 south to Whipple Road, head east towards the hills, and then continue straight across Mission Blvd directly into the parking area!
The Tolman Peak Loop:
Starting Off:
From the parking lot, hike past the gardens and head through the gate. Stay right at the first intersection. The trail for the first portion of the hike is a wide gravel road which makes for quick and easy hiking.
Looking for huge old growth Redwoods instead? Head to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park!
Near the trailhead, expect the trail to be busy. We did go on a Saturday with close to perfect conditions which probably put us there on a peak day, but I would expect this trail to get lots of use pretty much every day.
The trail starts off with a very gentle incline, and then flattens out as it takes a long right hand turn. The views through this first section are already pretty cool. You’ll have clear views looking up at the hills, and with the grass as green as it was for our visit, it was a beautiful start! You’ll think you’re starting up an old windows pc!
There are a couple more intersections that head uphill on your left, but stay right on the flat gravel road. You’ll soon hike through another gate, and then pass through an open meadow. Soon though, you will leave the meadow, and if it’s winter or spring begin hearing water. This signals your arrival at the creek and what I consider the second distinct section of this hike!
Around The Side:
By the time you see the creek, the trail will have changed a bit. While it is still a pretty wide trail, and I would still call it a road, it isn’t quite as wide or quite as well maintained. Honestly though I kind of liked the rougher terrain!
Head to Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve for more great East Bay views!
Once you arrive at the creek, you will begin hiking straight into the hills, following the creek through a bucolic valley heading away from civilization. It’s called Dry Creek park, so I imagine that this creek is dry most of the year, but in late winter and early spring, the hills are green and the water flows!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
The views change as you hike farther up the valley. You will still have views of the rolling hills, but there are more patches of forest here farther up the trail. The combination makes for a different look, but it’s just as pretty!
There is a very slight incline as you climb along the creek, but at times it’s hardly noticeable. There are small sections where you might get a steep 20 foot incline, but this part of the hike is pretty flat, mimicking the first section. The trail quality here will begin degrading though; while it wasn’t muddy when we hiked it, there was very obvious evidence of serious mud on the trail! Lots of deep tracks and footprints!
Up The Back:
Eventually, the trail will take a near 90 degree left turn and undergo a dramatic change. The gentle inclines and wide paths of the hike so far are gone, and they are replaced by narrow, overgrown, single track, and obnoxiously steep climbing!
I knew from looking at the elevation profile before doing this hike that the climb would be steep, but man it was really steep! Once you make the turn, it kicks up immediately! In the following .6 miles to the top, the trail ascends about 520 feet! That’s a pretty steep climb for the Bay Area!
Almost all of the climb is done through forest, which is actually really nice because direct sun would be really hot on a climb like this! The trail is a bit overgrown, so do expect to have branches grabbing at you and roots trying to trip you at times.
We struggled a bit going up this ascent purely because it is so steep. A sub 600 foot climb really isn’t anything that much, but when it is done at a nearly 1,000 foot per mile pace, that certainly ups the difficulty a bit!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
Before long, you will emerge out of the forest and find yourself on the grass covered slopes of the upper hill. Once out of the trees, there’s still a little bit of climbing left to do, so keep going up!
Before you know it, you’ll be at the summit of Tolman Peak! Tolman Peak is not a true mountain summit, it just isn’t high enough, but the views are excellent! The peak provides fantastic vistas over the East Bay, San Francisco Bay, and on clear days you could probably even see the Santa Cruz Mountains, and San Francisco itself! The air was a bit smoggy when we visited, but the view was still great. After a short break at the top for water and food, we headed down!
Descending:
While the climb takes you up the wooded back side of the hill, the descent goes directly down the front side of the peak. The trail reverts back to a wide gravel road, so from the summit you will be on gravel roads all the way back to the trailhead. From the summit, the descent isn’t as steep as the climb was, but it is still a very steep descent, and will wear a bit on your knees!
I wasn’t sure before hiking which direction would be best for hiking this trail. Would it be better to climb up the backside and descend down the front, or climb up the front and descend down the back? Now that we were finishing up, the answer was very clear: definitely climb up the back and descend down the front.
The climb up the backside is obnoxiously steep and the trail is a narrow, overgrown, path. While climbing it kind of sucked, going down it would have been even worse. I legitimately would not want to walk down that trail. While the descent down the front side of the hill is still steep, and does work the knees a bit, it’s a much nicer trail to descend on than the backside singletrack!
From the summit, it is about 1 mile down to the bottom of the hill. At the bottom, you will rejoin the wide gravel road you hiked on earlier. The trail you take down is one of the left hand turns you passed earlier.
Once down, it is an easy and mostly flat walk back to the trailhead. The views once you’re down really aren’t anything special, as you won’t even be looking at the hills anymore, but it does go fast, and before you know it, you’ll be done!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10
This is definitely a good hike to check out if you enjoy hiking in the East Bay Hills, and you will not regret your choice if you decide to come hike here. The trail quality is generally good, the views are very nice, and it’s not too busy once you get away from the trailhead. However, this hike doesn’t really offer anything unique that you can’t find at most of the other East Bay Hills parks, so while it is very good, it’s not special. Still makes for a nice morning on the trail though!
Pros:
- Excellent views
- Easily accessible
Cons:
- Busy in spots
- Very tough climb
- Lots of gravel roads
Alternative Hikes:
When To Hike The Tolman Peak Loop:
The Bay Area is a 4 season destination, and the weather year round is suitable for hiking. In the summer and early fall expect high temperatures, often uncomfortably high. In winter and spring, there is a chance of rain, but most days should still be sunny and in the 50’s or 60’s. In my opinion, the best time to visit Dry Creek Pioneer is winter or spring. In addition to the cooler temperatures, the hills are the greenest following the winter rains!
Keep in mind that this hike has very little tree cover, and is extremely exposed to the sun. Even if the highs are only in the 60s, you will likely be sweating. Always bring enough water and take the conditions into consideration when planning a hike. This hike would be brutal on a hot day!
Links For Further Reading:
May Trail, High Ridge Loop, Tolman Peak and South Fork Loop – California | AllTrails
Nathan Nebres
March 30, 2022Great Post, Nathan! The reason there is a lot of gravel on the flat section is because they need to truck in Cattle at the corral’s so it needs to be an all weather road.