Thursday, December 1, 2011

Briones Regional Park, CA

Last week I went hiking in Briones Regional Park along with some family members. We were all in desperate need of some post-Thanksgiving Day exercise. The weather was a bit crisp but as we made our way up the trail to the crest of the hills, the fog started to give way to warm sunshine. The trees were still decorated with their pretty autumn leaves. Briones is a wonderful park; it's so close to home, and even though it's surrounded by cities and housing developments, in just a short time, you feel as if you're lost in quiet nature.

Here's what the East Bay Regional Park Website has to say about this special place:

With its rolling, grassy hills and secluded, shady canyons, Briones is a secret wilderness surrounded by the towns of central Contra Costa County. Although the park is close to Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, and Martinez, there are peaks within it from which you can see only park and watershed lands for miles in every direction.

From Briones Peak, the highest point in the park, there are panoramic views of Mount Diablo and the Diablo Valley to the east, the Sacramento River and Delta to the north, the East Bay hills and Mt. Tamalpais to the west, and Las Trampas Regional Wilderness to the south.

So, want to see what we saw?

Off we go...


Fog...

Our trail...

Mt. Diablo in the distance...


Autumn colors...



California blue skies...



A grove of young oaks...



That's Mt. Diablo off in the distance again...
I can't wait to go back and explore some of the other trails. For more information on this park, click HERE.

6 comments:

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Beautiful post. I like the fog and fall colors!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Very nice crisp sharp pictures. Maybe I need to clean my lenses more often.

Joyful said...

Fabulous scenery.

Unknown said...

seems like a great place for a trek!

Cheers,
My Third Eye

Photo Cache said...

beautiful shots. my husband and i intend to visit all the ebparks; so far this one's got a check next to its name :)

49ers Tickets said...

thanks, really enjoyed looking at those nice pics. keep it up.