Wildcat Canyon Regional Park (Alvarado Staging)

Picnic
Accessible Restrooms
Accessible Parking
Hiking
Bicycling

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Features

Picnic
Accessible Restrooms
Accessible Parking
Hiking
Bicycling

Information

Website:: visit link
Address:: 5755 McBryde Ave., Richmond, CA,
Region:: San Francisco Bay Area
Dogs:: On leash
Dogs must be leashed 200 ft from any trail or park entrance, and at all times in developed areas and in posted areas of the park.
Last Visited:: January 2022

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Wildcat Canyon Regional Park encompasses 2,789 acres along the Wildcat Creek watershed and the surrounding hills and ridges. The park extends from the Tilden Nature Area above the Berkeley hills in the south to historic Alvarado Park at the north end in Richmond.

Trails and Pathways

Trail:: Wildcat Creek Trail
Trailhead Location:: Alvarado Staging Area
Trail Length:: Over 4 total miles

Typical Width:: 4 ft. & above
Typical Grade:: Steep
Typical Terrain:: Firm

Trail Overview: Wildcat Creek Trail stretches nearly 5 miles to Tilden Park however only the first 2 miles are accessible to some wheelchair users, especially motorized/power-assist wheelchairs as there are some steep grades. It is heavily used on weekends by cyclists, joggers, hikers and people with off-leash dogs.

This wide partially asphalt road is lined with tall eucalyptus, young coast live oaks, toyon, and coyote brush. In spring you may see plenty of blooming plants in the pea family, including purple vetch, clovers, and lupines. After an initial brief climb, the trail levels out a bit, and passes through a variety of shrubs and trees. The trail begins an easy climb, revealing a bit more of Wildcat Canyon's grassland. North-facing hillsides support some beautiful stands of bay laurel fringed with coast live oak. Along the route you’ll pass several spur trails, but they all quickly become inaccessible due to steep terrain. At about 1 mile you reach an open, level area with 1 picnic table. It makes for a lovely resting point. There’s not much shade until the last .2 mile as you drop steeply to an area where you can get close to the creek. There are several trailheads here but this is your turn around point due to steep and rough terrain.

More Info: There are several stretches where the trail is flat but overall this trail has lots of steep grades so would be difficult for most manual wheelchair users. Most motorized or power assist mobility devices will be able to navigate the hills. A worn asphalt road with intermittent long stretches of a firmly packed surface with varying sizes of gravel.

Accessibility Features

The facilities listed below meet all of our access criteria unless otherwise noted.

Accessible Parking:: Yes – designated accessible parking, van accessible, firm, level or slope no greater than 2%;
All parking requires you to travel on the park’s entrance road behind parked cars. The closest accessible parking is by the restroom but it’s still another .1 mile uphill to the trailhead.
Accessible Restroom:: Yes – Located in the parking lot. There are no facilities along the trail.
Accessible Picnic Table:: firm & stable path to tables, firm & stable surface, 27" or greater knee clearance; There is one table at a mile in and another at 1.5 miles. Neither are designated as accessible but were reachable in my motorized wheelchair. There is knee clearance at both ends.