Sometimes I wish every park or preserve district in the bay area had a botanic preserve like Huckleberry. It's an oasis, and an educational one at that. When many of the bay area preserves are unbearably hot, Huckleberry is cool and shaded. With so many plants in various stages of bloom and fruiting, if you love plants, it's definitely worth scheduling at least two trips to Huckleberry a year. In the late winter you won't want to miss pink-flowering currants, in the spring there are wildflowers and new leaves on the deciduous trees, in summer thimbleberries abound, and in late summer and early fall there's no better place to admire the huckleberries (see the page edibles for some photos of huckleberries and other berries).
        Be sure to pick up the pamphlet "Huckleberry Self-Guided Nature Path," from the information signboard. Seventeen numbered signs along the Huckleberry Path identify plants and plant communities.
     Start on the trail to the right of the information signboard, hiking-only Huckleberry Path. A few steps down the narrow trail, at a signed junction, the trail splits. Bear left and descend along some switchbacks. Soon you'll come across the first identified plant, a pacific madrone. An evergreen tree canopy will shade you almost completely, breaking only now and then for views to the northeast of Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. At about 0.4 mile, at a signed junction, head uphill to the right, remaining on Huckleberry Path. (The trail to the left connects to Sibley.)
      During some gentle climbing you will pass a variety of ferns, as well as toyon, gooseberry, creambush, currant, huckleberry, California hazelnut, and California bay. Just before you reach the mile mark, at a signed junction Huckleberry Path shoots sharply uphill to the right. (If you want to extend your hike, continue straight at this junction on the Skyline Trail for 0.4 mile, then turn right onto the Huckleberry Path for 0.35 mile to rejoin the loop. You won't miss any of the plant identification signs by extending the loop). For this hike, take Huckleberry Path to the right at the junction and ascend some steps on the only moderate portion of the hike.
        At the signed junction and a crest, turn right (still on Huckleberry Path) and then look for a small signed trail to the right. Walk down the path a few steps out to an open, exposed manzanita barren. These shrubs bloom in the winter, putting forth bell-shaped white flowers as early as December. A large chinquapin, with some distinctive spiny burs drawing attention to itself in summer, holds court among the manzanitas. Near the edge of the belvedere, a bench makes for a nice rest stop. Retrace your steps and continue along the Huckleberry Path. 
      The remaining portion of trail is very narrow and nearly flat, with tall shrubs (lots of huckleberry) towering over the path on both sides, blocking almost all of the views. Monkeyflower makes a cheerful showing, with orange blossoms persisting well into summer. The next three plant identification signs are down another narrow trail to the right (look for a small sign pointing the way to numbers 8-10). More manzanitas hunker down against the ground in a clearing with a great view of Mount Diablo. Return back to the main path and continue to the west. 
      Lots more huckleberry bushes crowd the trail here, as well as some more unusual plants such as silktassel, pallid manzanita, and a few more chinquapin. After the last identified plant, pink-flowered currant, the trail meets up again at a previously encountered junction with the other end of the loop trail. Coast live oaks and California bays provide most of the shade through here. Continue straight to the parking lot. On the way back, look for a large display of creambush on the left side of the trail.

Total distance: 1.7 miles
Last hiked:  Sunday, January 5, 2003

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