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Five Canyons Open Space Preserve

Address:  37°41'30.7"N 122°02'01.8"W (Approx., end of Boulder Canyon Dr.)
                                                               OR
                  Five Canyons Park: 37.678625, -122.031164
Parking: Free parking in the neighborhood at the Castro Valley address above. Please be respectful of residents. Free parking lot at Five Canyons Park.
Hours: 8 A.M. to Dusk
Type: Hike (moderate)
Regulations: Dogs allowed off-leash if under voice control in undeveloped areas; on-leash in developed areas
Best time to visit: A clear day, but not a hot day, as the ridge trail is fully exposed to sunlight
 
Description: 300-acres may not seem like much, but this park has a lot to offer! It has panoramic ridge-top views overlooking the bay, moss-lined shady trails along a flowing creek, relatively flat trails, and steep trails for a great workout. You can hike through this park to Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area, to Don Castro Regional Recreation Area, and trail improvements will soon link Garin, Dry Creek, and Mission Peak Regional Preserve. This park does not appear on most maps, and is easy to miss. Although you will have to pass through some cattle gates, we did not see any cattle during our hike, and spent about 2 hours hiking throughout the park.

Five Canyons has many entrances, but we enjoyed starting in Castro Valley on the Boulder Canyon Drive entrance. After a steep, paved stretch up, you will come to a gravel trail and soon pass through a cattle gate. There’s a bench overlooking the bay area, and you can see from south of Hayward all the way to San Francisco. The Ridge Trail travels down along the lush, green hillside, along a pond and eventually to a cattle trough, where you’ll find a trailhead sign. We took Shady Canyon Trail down a steep section, through another cattle gate, and enjoyed a shady walk along the stream. We took Newt Pond Trail back up and retraced our steps to where we started. If you are too tired to finish the hike, there is another trailhead half way up Newt Pond Trail that takes you to South Gold Ridge Drive. An easy few blocks walk will take you back to where you parked on Boulder Canyon Drive. The entire loop hike is a little less than 5 miles.

 
There is a garbage can and doggy clean-up bags at the entrance. No running water or restrooms.  
Click here for a trail map courtesy of EBRPD
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  • Home
  • Browse All
    • Alameda County >
      • Albany Bulb
      • Alameda Creek Regional Trail
      • Anthony Chabot Regional Park (Lake Chabot)
      • Aquatic Park
      • Chabot Park
      • Barlago Italian Kitchen
      • Buchanan Dog Beach
      • California Canoe & Kayak (Oakland)
      • César Chávez Park
      • Claremont Canyon
      • Coyote Hills Regional Park
      • Crab Cove
      • Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area
      • Dimond Canyon Park
      • Don Castro Regional Recreation Area
      • Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge
      • Dublin Hills Regional Park
      • Fairmont Ridge
      • Five Canyons Open Space Preserve
      • Fremont Central Park
      • Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park
      • Greenbelt Trails
      • Hayward Regional Shoreline
      • Heron Bay Trail
      • Holy Land Restaurant
      • Ikaros Greek Restaurant
      • Jerusalem Organic Kitchen
      • Joaquin Miller Park
      • Lake Anza
      • Lake Chabot
      • Lake Merritt
      • Leona Canyon Regional Open Space Preserve
      • Leona Heights Park
      • Marina Park
      • Martin Canyon Creek Trail
      • Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline
      • Mission Peak
      • Montclair Railroad Trail/ Torii Gate
      • Morgan Territory Regional Preserve
      • Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline
      • Park Street Classic Car Show (Annual)
      • Pleasanton Ridge Regional Preserve
      • Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
      • Robert's Park
      • Room 389
      • Shoreline Park
      • Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
      • Skyline Gate Staging Area
      • Strawberry Canyon Fire Trail
      • Sunol Regional Wilderness
      • Temescal Regional Recreation Area
      • Tilden Regional Park
      • Upper Anthony Chabot Regional Park (Oakland Entrance)
      • Upper Knowland Park
      • Vargas Plateau Regional Park
    • Butte County >
      • Feather Falls
      • Motel 6 - Oroville
      • Riverbend Park
    • Contra Costa County >
      • Acalanes Ridge Open Space
      • Briones Regional Park
      • Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline
      • Crockett Hills Regional Park
      • Diablo Foothills Regional Park
      • EBMUD Trails
      • Fernandez Ranch
      • Frowning Ridge
      • Geppetto's Caffe
      • Hacienda de las Flores Park
      • Hillside Nature Area
      • Howe Homestead Park
      • Indian Rock
      • Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area
      • Lafayette Community Park
      • Lafayette Reservoir
      • Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
      • Lime Ridge Open Space
      • Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
      • Moraga Commons Park
      • Mulholland Ridge Open Space Preserve
      • Point Isabel
      • Point Molate Beach Park
      • Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
      • Point San Pablo Harbor
      • Rubio's
      • San Quentin Beach
      • Shell Ridge Open Space
      • Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve
      • Sugarloaf Open Space
      • Sycamore Valley Open Space Preserve
      • Tender Greens
      • Tilden Regional Park
      • Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
    • El Dorado County >
      • Angora Lakes Trail
      • Bijou Community Park
      • Cascade Falls
      • Horsetail Falls
      • Inspriation Point
      • Motel 6 - South Lake Tahoe
      • Mt. Tallac
    • Marin County >
      • 101 Surf Sports
      • Baltimore Canyon Open Space Preserve
      • Blackie's Pasture
      • Camino Alto Preserve
      • Carson Falls
      • Cascade Falls
      • Cataract Falls
      • Dawn Falls
      • Ignacio Valley Preserve (Fairway Falls)
      • Indian Valley Open Space Preserve
      • King Mountain Open Space Preserve
      • Marin Headlands (Coastal Trail)
      • Old Saint Hilary's Open Space Preserve
      • Phoenix Lake
      • Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve
      • Roy's Redwoods
      • Sam's Anchor Cafe
      • Tiburon Peninsula Historical Trail
      • Tucker Trail Falls
    • Mariposa County >
      • Happy Burger Diner
      • Yosemite National Park
    • Mendocino County >
      • Catch-a-Canoe
      • MacKerricher State Park
      • Mendocino Headlands State Park
      • Navarro River Redwoods State Park
      • Princess Seafood
      • Skunk Train
      • The Stanford Inn By The Sea
      • Van Damme State Beach
    • Mono County >
      • Bodie State Historic Park
      • Jolly Kone
      • Lundy Canyon
      • Mono Lake (Tufa State National Reserve)
      • Virginia Creek Settlement
    • Monterey County >
      • 17-Mile Drive
      • Asilomar State Beach
      • Bistro Beaujolais
      • Carmel Beach
      • Fishwife
      • Fort Ord Dunes State Park
      • Garland Ranch Regional Park
      • Jack's Peak
      • Monterey Bay Coastal Trail
      • Monterey Bay Kayaks
      • Monterey Municipal Beach
      • Motel 6 - Downtown Monterey
      • Ryan Ranch Disc Golf Course
      • Ventana Wilderness
    • Nevada County >
      • Fairy Falls
    • Placer County >
      • Hidden Falls
    • San Francisco County >
      • 2.2 Mile Urban Hike
      • Bernal Heights Park
      • The Brixton
      • Billy Goat Hill Park
      • Blackwood
      • Clipper Cove Beach
      • Crissy Field
      • Dynamo Donut + Coffee
      • Fort Funston
      • Fort Mason
      • Glen Canyon Park
      • Golden Gate Park
      • Grand View Park
      • The Great Lawn/ Avenue of the Palms
      • Java Beach Cafe
      • John McLaren Park
      • Interior Greenbelt
      • Lake Merced
      • Lands End
      • Letterman Digital Arts Center
      • Marina Green
      • Mount Davidson
      • Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve
      • Ocean Beach
      • Palace of Fine Arts
      • Philz Coffee Truck
      • Stern Grove
      • Sutro Baths
      • Sutro Heights Park
      • TreasureFest
    • San Mateo County >
      • 7 Mile House Sports Bar & Grill
      • Barbara's Fishtrap
      • Bedwell Bayfront Park
      • Bob's Vegetable Stand and Pumpkin Farm
      • Cafe Pacifica
      • Devil's Slide Coastal Trail
      • Esplanade Beach
      • Flying Fish Grill
      • Half Moon Bay Kayak Co.
      • McNee Ranch State Park (Montara Mountain)
      • Montara State Beach
      • Mori Point
      • Mussel Rock Park
      • Panera Bread
      • Pedro Point Headlands
      • Poplar Beach
      • Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve
      • Rancho Corral de Tierra
      • Seal Point
      • Taqueria La Mexicana
      • Wavecrest Open Space
    • Santa Clara County >
      • Byxbee Park
      • Calero County Park
      • Uvas Canyon County Park
    • Santa Cruz County >
      • Byrne-Milliron Forest
      • Greyhound Rock County Park
      • Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
      • Jaliscos Restaurant
      • Mount Madonna County Park
      • Roaring Camp Railroads
    • Solano County >
      • Lagoon Valley Park
      • Peña Adobe Regional Park
    • Sonoma County >
      • Doran Regional Park
      • Fishetarian
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    • Tuolumne County >
      • Donnell Vista
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    • Yuba County >
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  • Map View
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      • Washington >
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  • Archived Hikes 1
    • Archived Hikes 2 >
      • Archives 2016-2018