In brief:
This east bay hills loop includes a self-guided tour through ancient volcanic features, and hosts a Bay Area Ridge Trail segment.

Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.6 mile loop hike is easy. Trails have minimal elevation changes and the preserve is small. Trailhead elevation is around 1400 feet. The featured hike climbs to about 1600 feet, then descends back to the trailhead -- total elevation change is about 770 feet.

Exposure:
About half shade, half full sun.

Trail traffic:
Moderate, with lots of local foot traffic.

Trail surfaces:
Dirt fire roads and trails, and 2 short segments on pavement.

Hiking time:
1 hour.

Season:
Nice all year, but best in spring.

Getting there:

From CA 24 in Alameda County, exit Claremont (exit 3). Drive about 1.5 miles northeast on Claremont Avenue to a major intersection with Ashby. Continue straight through the light, then turn right to remain on Claremont Avenue (Claremont Boulevard veers left). You should see a brown "parks" sign for Tilden and Sibley Parks, then pass the back on the Claremont Hotel on the right. 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, and almost immediately, after 0.1 mile, turn left into the preserve entrance.

GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude 37°50'51.78"N
Longitude 122°11'55.09"W
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)

Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, restaurants, pay phone, and stores near the junction of Claremont and Ashby, about 3.5 miles to the northwest. No camping.

Trailhead details:
No entrance or parking fees. Parking for about 25 cars in two gravel lots. Be sure not to block the gate to the right of the visitor center, as utility vehicles use this paved road regularly. Restrooms and drinking water at visitor center. Detailed map and self-guided tour pamphlet available at visitor center. There is no designated handicapped parking.

Rules:
Most trails are hiking and equestrian only. A few trails are multi-use. Dogs must be leashed 200 feet from any trail or park entrance. Dogs must be leashed in parking lots, picnic areas, developed areas such as lawns and play fields, and on some trails. They must be under voice control at all times. Dogs are not permitted in adjacent Huckleberry Preserve. Park is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless otherwise posted.

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

Map Choices:

• Map from EBRPD
• Bay Area Trail Map: Carquinez Strait and Berkeley Hills, published by Redwood Hikes, is a fantastic guide to Sibley and surrounding parklands.
• East Bay Out, by Malcolm Margolin, has a good history of the park (order this book from Amazon.com).
• Geology Trails of Northern California, by Robin C. Johnson and Dot Lofstrom (order this book from Amazon.com) has a nice geological description of this preserve.

Sibley in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured hike.


Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page