Morgan Territory Road Staging Area

Lots of cattle and deer. We also saw our first bobcat. Lots of great trails for me and my dogs to explore. There is a wide variety of terrain so we had a nice 4 hours of roaming around. Can’t beat letting your dogs run around off leash. Keep your speed down on the way in besides people living back there, there are quite a few bike riders. Share the road.

One of my favorite places to hike in the Bay Area, especially in the Winter and Spring, when it’s relatively cool and green. On 3/17, I got there at about 8:30 am and I was the first car there. Took the Volvon Trail and Blue Oak Trail in a four mile loop. I was impressed with the wildflowers - a native, yellow and purple ground cover plant called butter-and-eggs (Triphysaria eriantha eriantha) was particularly abundant in parts of the reserve.
I was also impressed by the lush green ground cover (native and non-native) in the shadier parts of the oak woodlands.
Also, at various points, you’ll have nice views of Mount Diablo to the east.
Just a beautiful, rolling hill landscape.

This is a really fun park, tucked back in the shadow of Mount Diablo. There are enough winding trails and fire roads crisscrossing the hillside to keep you going for nearly a week of hiking.

The trails are well-marked (as are so many East Bay regional parks) and it's nearly impossible to get lost if you pick up their trail map at the front.

When you hike here you'll see beautiful California hills, Mount Diablo and Olympia, gnarled oak trees, cows, and occasionally coyotes and Bobcats. The trails are pretty gentle and there are very few steep climbs - I've seen parents pushing strollers along the fire roads.

This is a review of Morgan Backpack Camp reserved through East Bay Parks. This is a very good beginner backpacking trip. It’s about 2.5 miles from the parking lot to camp via Clyma Trail. There are some hills but nice views of the Delta and Central Valley. Camp has views of Mt. Diablo. There is a nice pit toilet stocked with TP and hand sanitizer. There’s non potable water and the area is fenced off from cows although horses are allowed inside. There’s a trough to water horses. The max capacity is 20 people but should be more like 10. Attached pictures are all from within the fenced area at Morgan Backpack Camp.

Fun trails, lots of cows, lots of very steep sections. Some trails are better maintained than others and the cows have really torn up the dirt.