Sunol Regional Wilderness (Little Yosemite) 2015-06-23

Sunol Regional Wilderness, managed by East Bay Regional Parks District, is an amazing park with scenic trails and gorgeous views. The park can be accessed by taking Calaveras Blvd off Hwy 680 in Sunol (not Milpitas) and turning left onto Geary Rd in about four miles. There is a fee to park on weekends. We used the first parking lot on the left as we entered the park, where the visitor's center is located. There are several other parking lots situated throughout the park.

With several available trails, I'd decided to keep our hike to about 5 miles and check out Little Yosemite. We started at the Indian Joe Nature Trail. The trail head can be reached by crossing over Alameda Creek on a foot bridge. Alameda Creek still had a trickle of water flowing through it. 

Running parallel to the creek, Indian Joe Trail is somewhat shaded. A little ahead, this trail connects to Canyon View Trail. The walk on Canyon View Trail offered some breathtaking views of the canyon on the right as it slowly weaved through the mountains.

I was lucky enough to photograph a Turkey Vulture soaring high in this stretch of the trail. Even though the park was open for grazing, the cattle we came across today were staying in the shade rather than venturing out by the dry hills.

After crossing McCorkle Trail to reach Little Yosemite, we turned right onto Cerro Este Road. Little Yosemite is a cool spot, popular with adventure seekers who climb the huge rocks and boulders right in Alameda Creek. Apollo - the eternal adventure seeker - and I slowly made our way to the gorge and the creek. Even if you don't feel comfortable making the descent, this is an excellent spot to include in your Sunol Wilderness hike route.

After a water break, we headed back up Cerro Este Road. Over the next mile, we climbed some 600 feet and turned left onto McCorkle Trail. While Cerro Este Road is a fire road with very little shade, McCorkle Trail provides some relief from the sun.

We connected back to Canyon View Trail and retraced our steps on Indian Joe Nature Trail to reach the parking lot just as the temperature was getting to the low 80s and making the hike a bit uncomfortable, especially for Apollo. We could've done more, but an earlier start or a cooler day would have made it easier.

Our 5 mile hike today took less than two hours - one of our slower outings even though we only had to climb up a little more than 1000 feet in two stretches. With plenty more trails, we'll definitely be back at Sunol Wilderness a few more times. 

Serious hikers can trek the Ohlone Wilderness Trail between Mission Peak Preserve and Sunol Wilderness or between Sunol Wilderness and Del Valle Regional Park. Both require permits and will probably take the better part of the day to complete just one way.

More pictures from our hike today.
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