California Hiking…

In May I flew to California to visit my oldest daughter, Kate, who lives with her husband in Livermore, CA, about an hour from San Francisco. Our youngest daughter, 20-year-old Meghan, is spending the summer between her Sophomore and Junior year of college with her sister. It was a bonus to be able to visit both daughters at the same time.

Kate asked what I would like to do when I visited and one of the first things on my list was to see the park and trail where she regularly hikes. Thus, on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, the three of us, along with Kate’s English Cocker Spaniel, Maddie, headed over to Del Valle Regional Park for a hike.

We pulled in and parked, all of us eager to get to the trail, especially Maddie. I learned that Del Valle contains miles of scenic hiking and riding trails. Our hike on the Shore Line Trail followed the shoreline of Lake Del Valle, affording spectacular lake views nearly the length of our hike and allowing Maddie the opportunity to cool off by jumping into the lake whenever she got too warm. We connected to the Ridge Line Trail and ascended several steep hills, each time enjoying another spectacular view.

The day was warm and sunny, but a gentle breeze made the temperature and limited shade quite pleasant. We hiked out for about an hour, then rested and took a few photos on a hilltop bench overlooking the lake and dam.

We relaxed for awhile, then headed back after enjoying a brief rest on the bench enjoying the view. The hike back went by quickly. We saw many persons fishing, both from the shore and in boats on the lake. They all seemed to be successful in their efforts.

We arrived back at the car after nearly two hours. As we drove, relaxed, back to Kate’s home, we looked down on the interstate at the standstill traffic attempting to head out of town for the holiday weekend. It looked like a parking lot. We were refreshed after our hike and relieved that we were not en route to a further destination. It had been a very pleasant and relaxing day.

Browse Woodall’s listings of California camping for more places to stay and things to do in California.