In brief:
1.8 mile loop through woods and manzanita barrens, with lots of interesting vegetation. Hosts a Bay Area Ridge Trail segment.

Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.8 mile loop hike is moderate; there is signficant elevation change on this short hike. Trailhead elevation is about 1300 feet, the trail dips down to about 950 feet, then climbs back to the trailhead. Total elevation change is about 800 feet.

Exposure:
Mostly shaded.

Trail traffic:
Light.

Trail surfaces:
Dirt trails and steps.

Hiking time:
1 hour or more.

Season:
Nice year round. Maybe best in late summer when you can enjoy the shaded trails and sample huckleberries.

Getting there:

• From CA 24 in Alameda County, exit Claremont (exit 3). Drive about 1.5 miles northeast on Claremont Avenue to the intersection with Ashby. Continue straight through the light on Claremont Avenue (Claremont Boulevard veers left), then bear right. You should see the Claremont Hotel on the right, as well as a brown "parks" sign for Tilden and Sibley Parks. Continue on Claremont about 2 miles to the intersection with Grizzly Peak Boulevard. Turn right and drive about 2.4 miles to the intersection with Skyline Boulevard. Turn left onto Skyline. Drive about 0.5 mile, and turn left into the preserve parking lot.
• From CA 24 in Alameda County, exit CA 13 south (exit 5). After about 3 miles, exit at Lincoln/Joaquin Miller (exit 2). At the foot of the exit ramp, make a left, then take the next left, and then go straight onto Joaquin Miller. Drive uphill about 1 mile, then turn left onto Skyline (there's a brown parks sign before the turn, and a traffic light). Drive about 4.7 miles (past the Chabot Space Center and Redwood Park trailhead), then turn right into the parking lot.

GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude 37°50'33.62"N
Longitude 122°11'42.30"W
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)

Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phone, stores, and restaurants back along Claremont near College or Ashby. No camping.

Trailhead details:
No entrance or parking fees. Parking for 12 cars in a paved lot. Drinking water and pit toilet on site. Preserve map available at information signboard. There is designated handicapped parking but trails are badly-suitable to wheelchairs (due to steps and narrow stretches with steep drop-offs).

Rules:
All but one trail are hiking only. Skyline National Recreation Trail is designated hiking and horses only. No dogs on Huckleberry trails. Preserve is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Official Story:
EBRPD's Huckleberry page.
EBRPD headquarters 510-562-PARK

Map/book choices:

This hike is described and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup, that's me, the creator of this website). Order this book from Amazon.com.
• Map from EBRPD.
• Bay Area Trail Map: Carquinez Strait and Berkeley Hills, published by Redwood Hikes, is a good guide to Huckleberry and surrounding parklands.
• East Bay Out, by Malcolm Margolin, has a nice preserve description (order this book from Amazon.com).




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