Tilden Regional Park is a wonderful spot that spans the Oakland/Berkeley/Orinda area. It has a variety of facilities and attractions: the Steam Train, Little Farm, and the Merry-Go-Round are family favorites. At the moment, though, the Park has closed all park activities, except hiking and biking, due to COVID-19. Here are three easy hikes in Tilden for a family to enjoy.
Nimitz Way to the Peace Grove Lookout at Wildcat Peak
This is our go-to hike in Tilden. It is an easy out-and-back hike, with mild elevation changes, that takes you out to the Peace Grove Lookout at the top of Wildcat Peak. It is approximately 4.5 miles round trip. Most of this hike is on a wide paved road, with little shade, though there is an amazing eucalyptus grove along the way which provides some cover. When we want a shorter walk, we cut the hike in half by turning around when we reach the eucalyptus grove. Park in the lot at Inspiration Point on Wildcat Canyon Road in Orinda (Google Maps will take you there with “Inspiration Point, Wildcat Canyon Rd, Orinda”). The hike starts on Nimitz Way, on which you’ll walk for approximately 1.8 miles, and then turn left onto Wildcat Peak Trail. Hike an additional quarter of a mile, and then turn right, up a very short, steep trail to the top of Wildcat Peak. Here, you’ll find the lookout, which features a 360 degree view of the Bay Area. It is one of the best unobstructed views you’ll get around here, and it is beautiful! Return the way you came to get back to the parking lot.
Memorial Day Hike with stops at Jewel Lake and Little Farm
We hiked this approximately 2.8 mile hike on Memorial Day, naming it the “Memorial Day Hike” because it begins on Memory Trail. This trailhead is marked with a wooden staircase in the middle of the road on the north side of Canon Drive (Google map to 663 Canon Drive, Kensington, or Canon Drive and Central Park Drive). You can park here on the side of the road. Note – some of the trails on this hike are narrow, and there is poison oak all around to be mindful of.
Begin on the Memory Trail for approximately 0.3 miles, and turn left onto the Upper Packrat Trail. Follow the Upper Packrat Trail for about 0.4 miles and continue to the left on the Lower Packrat Trail when the Upper Packrat ends. Here, you’ll take the trail around Jewel Lake, which takes you from Lower Packrat and then turns you to your right, onto the Wildcat Creek Trail. There’s a bridge to cross, and then a short boardwalk here that we looped around that borders the lake where the kids looked for turtles and frogs between the swampy-type bushes. Back on Wildcat Creek Trail, continue in a southeastern direction toward Little Farm. Hang left on the Service Road before you reach Little Farm. We followed the Service Road until we could turn left onto Laurel Canyon Trail. Pretty eucalyptus trees are scattered throughout this part of the hike. When we reached the next junction, we turned right onto Loop Road, and followed it down to the trail which borders the side of Little Farm near the cows, stopping to see the sheep at the top. This hike will be more fun when all of the animals are out. When we reached the entrance of Little Farm, near the parking lot roundabout, we found the trailhead for the Lower Packrat Trail, which after just a few steps, put us back on the Memory Trail, which we followed back out to the car.
The hike up to Vollmer Peak is an easy one tucked behind the Steam Trains. Had the trains been open, we would have taken a ride before and after walking up to the peak. Park in the Tilden Steam Train overflow lot, and begin on the Seaview Trail, which is well marked on the east side of the lot. You can make this a very short, less than 2 mile hike, by simply following this paved road right to the top! We extended this hike to make it approximately 2.4 miles, by taking the Seaview Trail, turning left onto the Lupine Trail and then shortly thereafter turning onto the Vollmer Peak trail which ultimately picks up at the paved road again, taking you to the peak. At the top is a large space, which you can loop around to have a pretty view of the bay area. The boys liked the large climbing tree there, too! There is a communications tower there as well, which detracts from the beauty surrounding it. We followed the paved road all the way back down, making this a lollipop hike.
Measureless Days 