Address: 760 Canyon Oaks Drive, Oakland, CA
Detailed directions: Go up Keller Ave, make a left on Campus Drive, make your first right onto Canyon Oaks into the "Ridgemont at Skyline" condominiums, make a left and proceed until you see a parking lot at the end and to your left.
Parking: Separate parking lot for the trailhead within the Ridgemont Condominium complex. You will see a sign for Leona Canyon Preserve.
Type: Hike (moderate)
Dog Rules: Dogs allowed off-leash if under voice control, once you get past the main entrance
Click here for small trail map below Lake Chabot

Description: This is a difficult park to find (not to be confused with Leona Heights) - it took me a few tries, but it was worth it when I discovered the beautiful trails behind Merritt College. My dog loves to run off leash here. It's never crowded, although a few dog walkers can be seen on weekdays. Most days I rarely run into anyone. Most of the trails are shaded by beautiful trees, there's a flowing creek running along the main trail, and a large pond near the Canyon Oaks parking lot. If you're lucky you might just see some bats at dusk feeding on insects near the pond! This is a relatively small park, but you can easily spend a couple hours exploring the trails. The main trail splits off into two separate trails towards the end, each snaking up steep hills until ending at Skyline Blvd and Campus Drive. You can hike from the parking lot on Canyon Oaks Drive up to Merritt College, for a roughly 2.5 mile hike. If you're feeling ambitious, you can cross the parking lot and continue your hike down into Leona Heights Park. You can also explore the trail up to Skyline Blvd to extend your hike. 

Click here for a small trail map (below Lake Chabot), courtesy of the EB Parks website