My girlfriend's brother wants to get started hiking and climbing in the vicinity of Oakland, California this summer. Any ideas on hikes or climbs (class 1, 2, easy 3) within 60 minutes of Oakland that would be appropriate for this 55 years old reasonable shape guy and myself? Day hikes (climbs) up to 12 miles and elevation gain up to 4000 feet? Any local guide books you would recommend? Thanks in advance for any ideas. Hopefully not all of your ideas are overrun with tourists. Ha ha!

There are dozens of parks with maps posted online in the EBRPD website, and most are worthwhile with good views. Of course bring a shotgun for the violent cows (and the park staff that may attempt to moleste you).

http://www.ebparks.org/parks

get trail maps for Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tam - plenty of hikes there with lots of vertical. Dipsea trail is a classic on Tam. Mt. Saint Helena is a good fire road hike and the palisades/oat mine trail out of Calistoga is a good one.

There are a number of great hikes in Oakland itself, and if you're willing to drive a little ways north to Marin or Walnut Creek or south to Fremont and Livermore there are many many more. There's lots of good information on Summitpost and other online resources about local hikes. For guidebooks, "California Hiking" by Tom Steinstra is a great resource and lists lots of hikes in the immediate Bay Area.

Might want to talk to a member known as "Noondueler ..." he could give you the skinny on everything in his neighborhood.

Day hikes all over the place. Mt Tam, Mt Diablo, las Trampas park, Mission Peak. Mostly very short hikes, though, few miles round trip. The highest peak within an hour is Mt D which tops out well below 4000 ft, so there really isnt much vertical. Crowds pretty much everywhere, unfortunately.

Few crags here and there for 1-pitch rock climbing, but not really any mid-grade scrambles to speak of.

The bay area is rolling hills and flat land. Not like LA where you can see 10,000 ft peaks from downtown. Gonna have to drive at least 3 hours to find a proper mountain.

While there are interesting hikes throughout the Bay Area, I think the North Bay has, far and away, the best hikes, be it in terms of scenery, wilderness, isolation etc.

You can't beat Point Reyes for sheer awesomeness, and the hike to one of California's only tidefalls is one of the most scenic in the state.

Another great coastal hike is a bit to the north at Red Hill

The most rugged and wild terrain in the Bay Area is found at the Palisades. There are some great trails among the cliffs.

Nearly as rugged but not quite as extensive is Hood Mountain, which is one of the finest peaks in the Bay Area.

For those who hunt waterfalls, the North Bay has some amazing hidden gems:

Hooker falls?

ScottyP wrote:Hooker falls?

Very good. You get a cookie.
(line from Kelly's Heroes)

Thanks for all of your comments! Very helpful.

Hey Scott,

Mt. Tam offers the greatest year-round diversity of trails and eco-zones. Just cus it's only 2571' doesn't mean you can't post as much elevation gain as your legs allow. Buy a good map and go. Or, let a Sierra Clubber guide you: http://www.sfbay.sierraclub.org/chapter ... endar.aspx Also, there's some strong meetup groups covering the same ground. Diablo has fewer trails and a shorter season when it's pleasant - but doing the 'four peaks' hike in the spring is a classic not to be missed. Cheers.

Agreed on the EBParks.

I quite like Redwood Regional Park, you can get a good 5-8 mile hike in with lots of elevation gain/loss.

Sunol Regional Park, the wilderness (cow poopy, but challenging and nice views) trail.

Mt. Diablo, Del Valle Regional Park, Briones Regional Park, Castle Rock State Park

Outside of your 60min radius, but there's also Cobb Mountain, and Mt. St. Helena, up past Napa.

I agree with the suggestion of the California Hiking book by Stienstra & Brown. I also agree that many of these hikes are great year round. Why wait for summer? A summer or late fall heat wave can be the worst time to take on the more inland hikes. Once you have exhausted the slew of hikes close by and the North Bay hikes that are on the edge of an hour away and beyond, the South Bay has some nice options at Uvas Canyon (great waterfalls in the rainy season and access to Loma Prieta), and at various state parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Check out the Santa Clara County Parks website. Coyote Lake/Harvey Bear is a nice place to ditch crowds and see wildlife. Mt.Madonna Park is a nice place to ditch crowds in the redwoods and get some elevation in if you start from Sprig Lake. Expansive Henry W. Coe State Park is a vast wilderness where all kinds of elevation gain, mileage, and isolation amongst wildlife can be had with ups and downs from ridge to ridge. More in the 2-3 hour range south of the Bay area, there is Pinnacles NM and the Santa Lucia Mountains/Ventana Wilderness/Big Sur with the highest peak being Junipero Serra approaching 6,000 feet and isolation hard not to be struck by. Then in the summer and early fall, head east to the Sierra.

Doing the five peaks on Diablo next weekend, join me!

Joaquin Miller, run by the city of Oakland, is a hidden gem in the Oakland Hills and you can easily link it up to Redwood.
http://www.oaklandnet.com/joaquinmillerpark/Maps.asp

Also, you can catch the Skyline trail somewhere more quiet like Sibley or Huckleberry and http://www.ebparks.org/parks/huckleberry

A good sampling of hikes with photos is on Bay Area Hiker:
http://www.bahiker.com/