FOLLOW ME TO THE HILLS AT WILDCAT CANYON!

 

 

 

The San Pablo Reservoir seen from Wildcat Canyon Hills

 

Location:  Wildcat Canyon at Alvarado Park
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildcat-Canyon-Alvarado-Park/275652142475060?fref=ts

Length:   7.5 miles (approx.)

Difficulty:   Moderate to Difficult

Calories burned:   981 (based on average sized woman) 
                              360 (based on a 60-lb dog)

Duration:  About 3 hours.  Depends on you.

Elevation:  357ft to 1032 ft.:

 

Other Info:  There are  no bathrooms on this hike and only one water stop for humans.  Bring plenty of water on hot days and squat in the bushes the same as I do.  You will see a lot of wildlife on this hike including cows, coyotes, wild turkeys and other small mammals.   Wildlife sightings are guaranteed so if your dog has a high prey drive they will need to be kept leashed.   Dogs are allowed off-leash as long as they have reliable recall (which I do because my human always brings the good treats!)






Wildcat Canyon 7.5 (approx.) Hike

 

This is one of my favorite hikes.    Mostly because we stay out for hours, the terrain constantly changes and the views are spectacular!   So let's get started.....

We begin at a little-known trail head on Park Ave. in East Richmond Heights.   Take McBride Ave. past the main Alvarado Park entrance, head up Park Ave. until it ends and you are there.   There are a few parking spaces on the street, stay away from the house closest to the trailhead so you don't encounter the homeowner who doesn't like anyone near his driveway.

Enter the park and turn right onto the main road (Wildcat Canyon Creek Road).    This is the easiest part of the hike with only one difficult hill.   You will follow the main road for approximately two miles.   The walk is pretty, but you won't be able to see the Bay and surrounding area until we climb into the hills.  

 

 

A few tenths of a mile before you reach your first turn off the main road that takes you into the hills you will encounter the one and only water stop.  There is water for humans, cows and dogs!   The picture below is me on the picnic table waiting for my treat because this is our first treat stop too.  Am I cute or what? 

 

 

 



OK!  Water/treat stop is over let's get on with the hike.   Go past the water stop until you reach Havey Canyon Road on your left.   This is a 1.5 mile forested trail that will lead you into the hills.  The trail is mostly uphill, but has a gradual incline rather than being steep as some of the other Wildcat trails are.  Hiking this road will get your heart rate up but not exhaust you.   The terrain is muddy and slippery in wet weather so plan accordingly.    Below are some photos of Havey Canon trail.  It's a lovely hike with overhanging trees, wildflowers along a bubbling creek (in the wet weather).  Watch out for falling wild persimmons in the fall.  My human has been bonked on the head by them several times on this trail. 




Me and my brother, Pavlov.



You have to cross Wildcat Creek at the half-way point.  Be careful it is slippery!



You will go through a gate.   It is  not locked, please close it behind you.

 

 Now, I promised you some flora and fauna info.  The next picture is a of a

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet seen on the wooded trail.  My avian expert and my human's fellow Davis alumni, Jill Hedgecock informs me it is a songbird and one of the smallest found in the West.  The Kinglets eat mostly insects and berries.  If their nest is around they will defend it fiercely.   This little guy was just hanging out singing for us, he must know that I'm a bird dog.   

Ruby Crowned Kinglet
(Endless Pawsibilities Photography)





 Once you leave the forested part of the trail it curves to the left and you will find yourself in the hills.   Stay on Havey Canyon Trail until you hit a paved trail (Nimitz Way) and turn left.  The trail will be paved for less than half a mile.  While on this trail my human keeps me and Pavlov close so we stay out of the way of the bikers who use this paved path.  My human has taught us to move to the side and let others pass and share the trail.   She tells us we are "good dogs."   This means we get lots of treats!  Next is a picture of me and Pavy right after we leave the woods and head for Nimitz Way.  At this point in the hike we start seeing cows, sometimes they are quite close (more about cows later).





 We are on Nimitz Way and I'm running back to my human for a treat because I stayed out of the bike's way.  I am a "Good Dog!"



 Keep on the blacktop road until it splits off and goes to the right (toward Tilden Park).  We are going to go left, off the blacktop path back onto a dirt path.  We are now at about this half-way point and the views are about to get spectacular!   If you are a leisurely hiker, this is a good point to stop and have lunch.  Here are some pictures of the view:

 

Jeep at the half-way point.

 



Beautiful views of the Bay

 

We are still on Nimitz Way.  We will go through another gate an come to a corral which is normally empty.   At this point of our hike we can choose several routes depending on how difficult or easy you want to make the hike.  In the picture below you see the corral with 2 main arteries of the trail in front of you.   If you choose the right trail it will take you straight to Belgum trail.  Take Belgum trail down and you will find yourself at the starting point.   This hike will show you some spectacular views.  It is a little more difficult than the one we are taking today with some steep up and down hill. 

 

My human chooses to take an obscure cow path the runs around the hill.  The views are still great, but you avoid some steep hills.



Take the right-hand path to stay on the main trails.  Our hike goes to the left.  Take the left trail if you want to do a little hill climbing.  There is a cow path along the side of the corral that will avoid the uphill climb.  Either way takes you to a little-used cow path with some great views. 
 

 After you pass the corrals and make a left to get on the cow path (or stay on the main trail and go up the hill) you are in coyote country.  We almost always see coyotes here.  I chase them for a little bit, but my human calls me back because she says they don't want to play with me and might hurt me.  I am a "good girl" and I don't chase the coyotes. 



Sometimes we see a whole family

One of the coyotes watches us hike by.
 

Once around (or over) the hill you will see the cow path that we will be taking:

 

 Go in between the two wooden poles and follow the cow path.  There will be spectacular views all around you.  Speaking of cows:

We almost always find cows (and sometimes bulls!) on our hike.  Cows are not aggressive but don't take any chances, especially if there are calves present.  Calf moms will protect their young just like any other mom.   Even though my brother Pavlov and me are respectful of the cows, my human usually puts us on our leashes if we get too close.  She says cows can't always tell the difference between dogs and coyotes.  It's best to be careful.   The calves are really cute and friendly.  Don't try to pet them!    Here's some pictures of some of cows you might meet: 

This is an event where you choose to go off-path and avoid the cows.  This mom is letting us know "None shall pass!"



Lovely views and gentle cows.

 

 

In addition to the cows and hills you can still see the bay from here. 

 Stay on the cow path for about 1/4 mile until you see a water trough downhill.  Take the downhill path toward the trough.  I like to take a drink here.  Sometimes the cows do too and they politely let me drink first!  Check it out.....

 

Trails down to the water trough



The cows wait for me to finish drinking.

Ahhhhhh.  Now that I've had a drink and my human gave me a treat we are ready to continue the hike.   We head out and take the cow path right in front of us to go around the next hill.  REMEMBER you can skip the cow paths at any time and take the main trails over the hills.

 

Pavlov is contemplating the route.   You can take either trail, they both end up at the same place eventually.  We like taking the trail to the right because it goes up a gentle hill and the views are wonderful.

Once you get past the trees you see in the above picture you will be on a wide ledge that hugs the hill and overlooks a pasture where you may see cows grazing or another family of coyotes.  You will also see the Bay, the Golden Gate and the City!  You will only follow this trail for a short time and you will come to a cow path that branches to the left (or you can stay on this trail and connect to the main road (Belgum Trail).  My human says we like to keep to the road less traveled on our hikes.  

  Me and Pavlov on the ledge!    On a clear day you can see the city.

Beautiful views of the bridge from this path.

Wow, we are almost done!  But there are still some roads to travel and things to see.  Follow the cow path around the hill.   It branches a few times.  The right branches will take you back to the main road, the left branches will again take you to the roads less traveled. 

The road branches left and right.  Take the high road to go back to the main trail.  Take the low road to have a few more adventures before we are done. 

 

 Once you go around the hills that contain the main road you will branch off the left, go over a grassy hill then start your decent back down.     Just follow the small paths down, any one of them will eventually take you back to Wildcat Canyon road.   But the path we choose takes us through a fun and interesting place.  (More about that later we just spotted some friends!)

 

 

 

It's my Doberman friend Louis and his human!  Pavlov and I love wrestling with Louis.   Louis and his human are one of the few people you will encounter on the this hike.   They like to take the back-roads too.

After playtime we keep going down the hill and now we are on the old grounds of the Belgum Grande Vista Sanitarium.  This property once held an old mansion where the rich of San Francisco sent their relatives who weren't "quite right."   Exploring this glade full of palm trees and other exotic plants we find the crumbling foundations of the buildings that once sat here.  You can almost imagine the music playing and humans dancing on the veranda since this sanitarium housed the well-to-do castoffs of important San Francisco families.   If you would like to read more about the Grande Vista and see some pictures you can follow this link:  http://logdriver.tumblr.com/post/107069551757/belgum-sanitarium.    Also, as you leave the grounds to get back on the main path (Belgum trail) there is a bulletin board with a history or the property printed out for you to read. 

 

Pavlov shows us some of the beautiful palm trees on the grounds o the old Belgum Sanitarium.   A piece of the old foundation from the Sanitarium.

Once we have explored the Grande Vista grounds we make our way back to the Belgum Trail and this time we stay on it.   We have hiked over 7 miles and are almost back to our starting point.  My human is tired, but I'm not!   But we have to go home now and I know my human will bring me out here again because we hike almost EVERY DAY!   I am a LUCKY DOG!

 

Here is the gate we go through to bring us back to the Wildcat Canyon trail and our car.

Remember to close and lock the gate behind you.   We don't want the cows to wander down and get lost. 

Thank you for coming along with me, my brother Pavlov and our human, Diane, on our hike.   Next time we will show you a 2 1/2 mile hike at Wildcat for those of you who would rather not do 7 miles.  You will still get to see some pretty views, but the hike is much easier and you will stay on the well traveled roads.

If you would like your dog to come along on hikes with me and Pavy you can contact our human at endlesspaws28@gmail.com.    You can learn more about our hikes at www.endlesspawsibilities.ipage.com.    You can see lots of pictures of our adventures on our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Endless-Pawsibilities/896546197025507.

If you are unfamiliar with Wildcat Canyon it is best to pick up a map at either the Alvarado Park entrance or the Rifle Range entrance before attempting hikes on the back-roads. 

If you would like to suggest hike that me and my brother, Pavy, might enjoy, please e-mail my human and let her know. 

See you next time!