🥾 BART-Friendly Day Hikes
Don't have a car but want to go on a long hike for the weekend? Here are two locations that can be accessed relatively easily by public transportation.
San Bruno Mountain State Park,
Dally City BART Station
Discover what's at the end of the Bart line! San Bruno Mountain State Park looms over San Fransisco and the Northern Peninsula, offering great views and wildlife throughout the many trails.
There are a few different trailheads within the park, the two closest to the BART station will be the Crocker Gate trailhead and the trailhead located at the end of Royce Way. Both are a bit under a two-mile walk from the BART station, so make sure to account for those extra miles when planning your hike!
Here are two hikes to check out:
San Bruno Mountain via Summit Loop and Dairy Ravine Trail
Distance: 4.7 miles
Saddle Trail Loop (use the Crocker Gate trailhead to access the trail, not the trailhead Alltrails uses if you're walking by BART)
Distance: 2.7 miles
Briones Regional Park,
Lafayette BART Station
Briones Regional Park is a huge wilderness in the heart of the East Bay with panoramic views stretching to Mount Diablo and Mount Tam. It seriously feels like you're miles away from any major town once you walk a few miles in. For Bay Area natives, it's a personal favorite spot.
After getting off at the Lafayette BART Station, walk along Happy Valley Rd. until you arrive at the steep Panorama Dr. This will take you to the doorstep of Briones at the Mariposa Trail. It's a 1.3 miles walk from the BART station to get here.
Here are two good hikes that go out from this trailhead:
Mariposa Loop
Distance: 3.2 Miles
Russell Peak Loop
Distance: 6.3 Miles
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⛺ Camping Trip of the Month:
Pinnacles National Park
With caving, rock climbing, miles and miles of trails, and California condors, Pinnacles National Park has something for everyone.
With lots of attention directed toward Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, and Tahoe, Pinnacles often doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. Pinnacles can get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, so as we move deeper into October it's a great time to visit Pinnacles. It's a great day trip (expect a long day) or an even better weekend getaway — there are quite a few different camping spots.
Must-do's:
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🎃 Celebrating October:
It's Tarantula Season — Here's Where to Go
Do you have arachnophobia? Here's the time to find out.
Tarantulas, while big and intimidating, are quite harmless. They're the gentle giants of the arthropods. September and October are peak mating seasons for tarantulas, and they're quite a famous bay area resident.
You may see them early in the morning on in the evening in the Berkeley hills, but you will have much better luck if you go to Mount Diablo State Park. Tarantulas are frequently spotted here. The Mitchell Canyon Staging Area offers a good place to start looking.
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📱Camping/Trip Planning Resource
IOverlander
iOverlander is a free website and app created to help overlanders on the road find their next destination. In other words, it can help you find cool camping spots, safe dispersed camping spots, places you can safely sleep in your car overnight, and much more.
It's very helpful for long road trips and general trip planning. You can use this web version or download the app.
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☀️An Outdoor Safety Guide
How to Keep Yourself Safe When Organizing, Joining, and Going on Outdoor Adventures!
Written by co-president, Grace Boyd!
The outdoors is a beautiful, magical place full of wondrous opportunities to explore yourself and the Earth. CHAOS’ community strives to make access to nature easy, safe, and affordable to as many people as possible. However, given how large our club is, we want to make sure that you take appropriate safety precautions before embarking on a trip with fellow CHAOS members.
- Know the person/people behind the trip
- Meet with the trip-goers before the trip
- Keep someone trusted up-to-date
- Have a way out
- Don't be discouraged
Please read this post to learn about these points in detail and stay safe when adventuring with CHAOS!
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🔭 Looking For More?
Check out more fun hikes, camping spots, and some best spots around Berkeley in our previous newsletters.
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