98,000+ Acres: Your Regional Parks

Seventy-five years ago, citizens in seven cities concerned about protecting and preserving 10,000 acres of surplus watershed in the Oakland/Berkeley hills founded the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). Little could they have known that their early efforts would grow to encompass over 98,000 acres, 65 regional parks and 1,150 miles of regional trails that today serve residents in two counties. Each year, 14 million people participate in an extraordinary range of outdoor activities—almost right in their own backyards!

Today’s regional parks are the result of eight decades of hard work and support by innumerable people from all walks of life: taxpayers; volunteers; citizen activists; elected EBRPD directors, general managers and employees; environmental organizations; and public officials. It is a remarkable collaboration that ensures residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will always have access to magnificent regional parklands close at hand.

Most East Bay Regional Parks provide large open areas where people can camp, walk, hike and jog on trails, roam with their dog, or ride on horses and mountain bikes. Lakes and Bay shoreline areas provide sandy beaches for swimming, along with year-round fishing and boating opportunities. Park ridges and peaks offer spectacular panoramic views while valleys provide seclusion and escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Today’s parks include rolling hills, majestic ridges and 40 miles of accessible restored shoreline, providing the backbone of the East Bay’s green belt. Open space bordering on neighborhoods and communities offers the environmental and aesthetic quality of life highly prized by East Bay residents.

Cherie Newell