Alvarado Staging Area

Gorgeous views. Our favorite hike is about 6 miles and lots of incline. Friendly fellow hikers and grazing cows. Great exercise and sights of the bay.

Easy to access parking lot for the Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. Lots of parking with a turnaround at the end of the lot if you need to cruise for a spot. Standalone restroom is handicap accessible.

Great park and great walking and hiking. A wide paved road is perfect for walking the dogs and options to go off and up if more hiking is desired.

It is a merely perfect place for a morning and afternoon walk near the East Bay. I brought my wife here and she - usually doesn't like walking over shopping or sipping coffee on the weekend - loved it here a lot. Walking in running shoes was okay but tracking or climbing shoes are recommended for uphill and down paths. If you are walking only through the paved way, walking or running shoes are fine enough, though cows are not seen down that path.

Some steeper climbs for casual hikers but definitely worth the views. Bring water. Be cautious with the coyotes and cows. Haven’t had a mountain lion encounter yet. Off leash dogs in most areas but other than one which initially growled but then just sniffed and owners called back (they were actually out of sight). So that is an unfortunate turn off (not the dogs themselves, the irresponsible owners). Speaking of which dog poop bags also dropped indiscriminately, really? This was a slow casual walk with picture taking (see posted photos of coyotes, cows, views). We stopped to eat a box lunch as well included in the time.