They finally finished the Rodeo stretch of the San Pablo Bay Regional Trail at Pacific Avenue. They…read morespent money on a large footbridge over the marshland, but there is little to do at the end but turn back since it turns industrial pretty fast. One suggestion I have is considering the walk over the railroad overpass and into this postage stamp of a shoreline park. There is indeed a Rodeo Beach but nothing like the scenic sandbar in the Marin Headlands. Just a lot of concrete rubble. Nicer is the small bluff that drops into the bay, an almost Monterey touch you don't expect to see in these parts. There's also a beached tugboat and remnants of a long-gone pier to consider for photographic purposes. OK, now you can walk back on the trail. RELATED - Exploring the western part of Contra Costa County? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2VyCP18

Beautiful views of the Bay!…read more The trails are steep, with plenty of gravel and poison oak beside the path. Be careful to stay on the trail and wear pants. There are no bathrooms. They have benches along the paths so you can sit and enjoy the scenery. Parking is easy, with plenty of street parking. Saturday can be a little hectic because the recycling center is open and there is limited parking. My go-to hike for a peaceful, fast hike with beautiful views! Cuatro catorce dos mil viente cinco

Great place with awesome views. Steep if you go west to east, can be muddy. But! Dogs on leash only…read moreand bicycles/ebikes/motorized vehicles NOT allowed. Only open sunrise to sunset.

This park is right across Frog Park in Sycamore Hercules. It has a half-court basketball and a few…read moretables for an outdoor picnic. It's relatively small and has a small trail behind the park. Aside from the basketball court, there's really no outdoor activity you can do. A small place just to leisurely around while walking on Sycamore.

It's the Central Park of Hercules. Yes, I'm probably overstating its appeal, but for a bedroom…read morecommunity like Hercules, it fits. I only discovered the park myself when I took an inadvertent detour on the San Pablo Bay Regional Trail when I was trying to avoid the breezes from the bay. There are picnic tables, a bocce ball space, a basketball half-court, and even horseshoe pits. Parking is ample for such a small patch of greenery... And yes, there is a pond. I may have even seen a duck. The paved walkways represent the best part for me because I'm either coming or going. Those who stay are either young moms with their toddlers or dogs with owners glued to their smartphones. There's also a kid's playground (Frog Pad Park) right across the street. What more would you want? A zoo? Shakespeare in the Park? Tavern on the Green? RELATED - Exploring this part of Contra Costa County? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2VyCP18

A great walking trail…read more Stopped by for my daily walk and was reminded why this is one of my favorite places to be active. Features: Walking paths Benches Dog friendly Fishing Water views Shade some Parking The trail picked up by the watering plant in Pinole. Small parking lot, don't feel too safe walking it alone. Definitely will walk it again with a friend.

Beautiful biking and walking trail along the SF Bay trail. Clean. Paved. Safe. And you see the…read moreamtrack line roll by.

This is a fine park. Post pandemy they had a lot of Canadian Geese excrement all over, but it's…read morebetter now. The pictures of the plastic covered doo-hickeys were actually rocks. They appeared one day and were uncovered a while later. This is a beautiful area with a beaufiful sunset. Not Hawaii beautiful, but it's fine even if the sun sets behind a bunch of buildings or a cloud. There are no good eats in the area. The restaurant has a review of mine, but it was taken over by people who truly don't care about the folks that they serve, but you can read that review. It's fine for walking, a quick walk after work (I worked at a school that was near the park). It's nice, peaceful and safe.

** The following review reflects my experience DURING the COVID-19 pandemic. **…read more Lucretia Edwards passed away fifteen years ago, but her legacy as an environmental activist can be felt in all the regional parks to be found in Richmond, an unexpected bonus for anyone getting familiar with this otherwise relatively nondescript East Bay city. This park was named in her honor though there appears to be little sense of a park here. It's primarily a promenade wide enough to accommodate walkers and cyclists (if everyone is masked). It wraps around Ricnmond's Inner Harbor Basin and adjoining boat marina. It starts at the worthwhile museum dedicated to Rosie the Riveter and the World War II home front activity centered in Richmond (review: https://bit.ly/3rXHw5A). Then it extends to a Q-Tip of greenery, Barbara & Jay Vincent Park. It's all flat and paved, and if you're lucky, you can see dolphins cavorting in the harbor. They must view it like a spa retreat because they didn't seem to be in a hurry to go back into the bay. RELATED - Exploring Richmond? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2VyCP18

Wonderful place to view the bay area on top of a hill. Not a bad place to see the sunset.read more

"Up there we see everything, Oakland to the left, El Cerrito and Richmond to the right, Marin…read moreforward, over the Bay, Berkeley below, all red rooftops and trees of cauliflower and columbine, shaped like rockets and explosions, all those people below us, with humbler views; we see the Bay Bridge, clunkety, the Richmond Bridge, straight, low, the Golden Gate, red toothpicks and string, the blue between, the blue above, the gleaming white Land of the Lost/Superman's North Pole Getaway magic crystals that are San Francisco." -Dave Eggers This wasn't written for Nicholl's Knob but you will see breathtaking views here as well. It's a simple little hike, up a few intense hills but the views are well worth it. It will take you about an hour if you stop for pics. You can do another hour on the Bay at Knox Regional across the street. Not many folks on the hills and I doubt that will ever change. A lovely hidden gem.

Pinole Creek Trail is about half a mile long from the mouth of the creek that starts from the bay…read moreand into the downtown area of Pinole. The creek itself is 10.95 miles long running through town, but the trail is a nice, flat and paved area that many locals utilize to jog, run, walk and stroll. There are several bridges that runs through the creek, including an elevated wooden railroad bridge that is quite picturesque. On the other side of the trail is the Bay Trail, and parts of that trail is not paved, especially from San Pablo Ave. all the way to the mouth of the creek. However, both trails connect to Bayfront Park towards the railroads and Pinole Shores. So depending on what route to take, you can spend quite some time to get your exercise. For us, it's the exercise, walking the dog and being outside. Especially when the weather is nice, it's quite a nice stroll with enjoyable views while being out in nature and still in an urban setting. However, it's the best of both worlds and the city of Pinole does a great job of maintaining the trail. Along the creek is also Fernandez Park, with kids' playground, community center, basketball court and a baseball field. It gets busy during the weekend with plenty of outdoor activities for both adults and kids alike. The creek is a mixture of both salt and fresh water that attracts countless of wildlife. I think there's always a family of ducks that are always swimming or just hanging around the banks of the creek. There's definitely fish in the creek since you'll spot their activities on the water. And the many types of birds that will stop to take a bath or feed during their migration. At the mouth of the creek where it meets the bay, there's a waste water treatment plant, and depending on where the wind blows, you might get a whiff of an unpleasant smell. However, it's quite a nice area to explore during low tide as you can walk a pretty good distance off shore. Make sure your wearing the right kind of footwear since it's very muddy. Doing this activity makes me feel like a kid again. Here's a little secret: On both sides of the trail, there are rows of bushes that grow wild berries. People forage these bushes all the time and we've done our fair share of foraging. I've even made several milkshakes as a result of our foraging. I'm not gonna tell you which are the sweet ones, I'll let you figure that out yourselves. Oh, and the bushes are very thorny so be careful. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Hubbers and I don't live too far from here, and since our 6-month-old pup has now been trained to…read moretake walks, there was no better idea than to come and finally check this place out. We lucked out and came through on a nice clear late afternoon. The trail is available for walkers (for both 2 and 4 legged creatures) as well as bikers. People were conscious at social distancing (given the current pandemic crisis we're currently going through) which I thought was really cool. We really enjoyed it. We even lost track of how far we went because we got distracted looking out the water. The only thing I would suggest for improvement is maybe to have more trash bins. Don't get me wrong - the trail is generally nice, but it would be better if I wasn't seeing a bit of garbage here and there. (Yeah, there are some undisciplined people out there, shame on them.) Hubbers, our pup and I liked it so much we made a return visit in less than 48 hours. Definitely a good go-to to catch some fresh air and getting some steps in!

I am always up for discovering new spots I haven't been to in Norcal, Bay area specifically. I had…read moreno idea Richmond had a beach! Point Molate Beach park is a somewhat hidden spot right off 580. There are picnic benches, and steep grassy area. You can get down to the sand at a couple spots with care and ninja like agility (LOL). I enjoyed some time here on a Friday morning. The views of the water and the beautiful San Rafael-Richmond bridge is one of my favorite sites in the Bay. The park wasn't crowded. The parking lot is small. The port-o-potty was surprisingly well maintained and was just cleaned when I arrived. There was some construction going on. After some research, turns out a pedestrian and bike path is coming sometime in 2027. I honestly have no complaints. I'm happy to find a nice, secluded spot to get away and take in some beautiful views. I plan to return again sometime soon.

Nature and bay come together here with breathtaking views. Drive the road to the end and have lunch…read moreat the park tables or on out to The Sailing Goat. View the bay, see deer and Osprey (sea eagles) nesting. Easy access at the last exit heading west to San Rafael. just before getting on the Richmond/San Rafael bridge.