Leona
Canyon Regional Open Space Preserve,
East Bay Regional Park District,
Alameda County
In brief:
2.7 mile out and back on trails squeezed between steep canyons and housing developments,
near Merritt College.
Getting there:
From Interstate 580 in Alameda County, exit Keller Avenue (exit 27b). Drive uphill
(east) on Keller about 0.8 mile, then turn left onto Campus Drive. Almost immediately,
turn right onto a housing development on Canyon Oaks. Turn left and drive less
than 0.1 mile to the signed trailhead on the left side of the road.
Trailhead details:
No parking or entrance fees. 22 spots in a paved lot (no parking in adjacent development).
No designated handicapped parking, and trails are not suitable for wheelchairs.
No restrooms, pay phone, or drinking water. There's an information signboard a
short distance from the parking lot, on the side of the trail, but there were
no maps to the preserve on my visit. This park is accessible by public transit.
Visit the Transit Info website
for details.
Gas, food, and lodging:
There are a few stores and restaurants along Keller, with more services north
or south off Highway 580 in Oakland or San Leandro. No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.7 mile out and back hike is easy, with about 470 feet in elevation
change. Trailhead elevation is about 400 feet. The out-and-back hike descends
slightly, gradually climbs to about 870 feet, then returns to the trailhead.
Rules:
Trails are open to hikers, equestrians, and cyclists. Dogs are permitted.
The Official Story:
EBRPD's Leona Canyon
page
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Map
from EBRPD (download the pdf)
Leona
Canyon in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
View
photos from this hike.
Leona Canyon Open Space Preserve
is an anomaly within the East Bay Regional Park District. The preserve lacks nearly
all the amenities of a park, and you'll find no restrooms, drinking water, nor
any of the extras flaunted by other local EBRPD properties. This small open space
preserve, solely comprised of a canyon and its sloping hillsides, is perfect for
low-impact use such as jogging, strolling, or dogwalking. Horses and bicycles
are permitted, but are uncommon. Leona Canyon is big and steep enough for daily
virtuous exercise, and with a giant X trail configuration, the preserve provides
variety for walks and runs. Leona Canyon Trail is easy, gaining slightly over
450 feet in elevation in 1.3 miles, while Artemesia and Pyrite Trails begin in
the belly of the canyon and climb east and west, respectively, topping 
out
at over 900 feet. You'll have to be content with a short hike here, for although
Anthony Chabot Regional Park lies just over the ridgeline to the east, private
property intervenes.
The best views in the preserve are from the northwest
end of Leona Canyon Trail at the edge of Merritt College. At this, the trail's
high point, there are nice views back down the canyon, including its steep walls.
Unless you live off an end of either Pyrite or Artemesia
Trails, you'll start a visit to Leona Canyon at the trailhead near a housing development
on Canyon Oaks -- there is no other designated parking.
Start at the gated fire road and begin walking
downhill on wide multi-use Leona Canyon Trail. Near the
information signboard the trail begins a slight climb. Disregard two broad paths
running along the perimeter of a small pond on the left and continue on the fire
road, which is lined with coyote brush, poison oak, broom, and young coast live
oaks. A steep hillside, dotted with boulders, ascends to a ridge on the right.
Leona Canyon Trail descends a bit, and draws near a creek at the mouth of the
canyon. California bay, buckeye, coast live oak, willow, and some giant alders
close their canopy over the trail. You might see blackberry, poison oak, dogwood,
ferns, snowberry, hazelnut, and coffeeberry in the understory. The trail makes
its way through a canyon along the creek, wandering from open sunny areas to dark
woods, at a slight uphill grade. At 0.68 mile 
Artemesia
Trail heads uphill on the right, from a signed junction. Continue straight.
Pyrite Trail then departs to the left from a signed junction at 0.70 mile.
Again, continue straight on Leona Canyon Trail.
The trail rises a bit more steeply, but the
grade is still easy. The year-round running creek nourishes a woodland of coast
live oak, California bay, poison oak, poison hemlock, hazelnut, snowberry, and
buckeye. At about .77 mile there's a bench on the right side of the trail. Just
after, the grade picks up noticeably, and you'll begin to climb out of the canyon.
Emerging from the woods bush lupine, toyon, coyote brush, monkeyflower, sagebrush,
coffeeberry, and lots of broom coat the sharply sloping hillside on the right,
while the left flank near the creek is still somewhat forested. After a long steadily
moderate climb, the trail levels out and then ends at 1.35 miles, at a gate and
the edge of a Merritt College parking lot. Retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 2.70 miles
Last hiked: Thursday, July 25, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
is an anomaly within the East Bay Regional Park District. The preserve lacks nearly
all the amenities of a park, and you'll find no restrooms, drinking water, nor
any of the extras flaunted by other local EBRPD properties. This small open space
preserve, solely comprised of a canyon and its sloping hillsides, is perfect for
low-impact use such as jogging, strolling, or dogwalking. Horses and bicycles
are permitted, but are uncommon. Leona Canyon is big and steep enough for daily
virtuous exercise, and with a giant X trail configuration, the preserve provides
variety for walks and runs. Leona Canyon Trail is easy, gaining slightly over
450 feet in elevation in 1.3 miles, while Artemesia and Pyrite Trails begin in
the belly of the canyon and climb east and west, respectively, topping 
out
at over 900 feet. You'll have to be content with a short hike here, for although
Anthony Chabot Regional Park lies just over the ridgeline to the east, private
property intervenes.
information signboard the trail begins a slight climb. Disregard two broad paths
running along the perimeter of a small pond on the left and continue on the fire
road, which is lined with coyote brush, poison oak, broom, and young coast live
oaks. A steep hillside, dotted with boulders, ascends to a ridge on the right.
Leona Canyon Trail descends a bit, and draws near a creek at the mouth of the
canyon. California bay, buckeye, coast live oak, willow, and some giant alders
close their canopy over the trail. You might see blackberry, poison oak, dogwood,
ferns, snowberry, hazelnut, and coffeeberry in the understory. The trail makes
its way through a canyon along the creek, wandering from open sunny areas to dark
woods, at a slight uphill grade. At 0.68 mile 
Artemesia
Trail heads uphill on the right, from a signed junction. Continue straight.
Pyrite Trail then departs to the left from a signed junction at 0.70 mile.
Again, continue straight on Leona Canyon Trail.