Lime
Ridge Open Space,
City of Walnut Creek & City of Concord,
Contra Costa County
Getting there:
From Highway 24/680 in Contra Costa County, exit Ygnacio Valley Road (exit 46b).
Drive east on Ygnacio Valley Road for about 6 miles, then turn north (left) onto
Oak Grove. Drive one block, then turn right on Citrus Avenue. Drive about 1 mile
north on Citrus, and park on the side of the street near where the Contra Costa
Canal Trail crosses the road.
Trailhead details:
Side of the road parking in a residential neighborhood. No facilities or maps.
No parking or entrance fees. No designated handicapped parking, and trails are
not suitable to wheelchairs. There is no direct public transportation to the park,
but several Contra Costa County buses will bring you within walking distance of
the preserve.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phones, restaurants, and stores back to the west on Ygnacio Valley Road.
No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.7 mile loop hike is easy. Trailhead elevation is around 140
feet. This hike climbs to about 500 feet. Every ascent/descent in this part of
the preserve is steep, but trails are short -- total elevation change is about
400 feet.
Rules:
Trails are multi-use. Dogs are permitted in some parts of this preserve (check
the Walnut Creek website for details). Open during daylight hours.
The Official Story:
City of Walnut Creek's Lime
Ridge page
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Map
from City of Walnut Creek (download the pdf)
• East Bay Trails, by David Weintraub, has some a good map and trail
descriptions of Lime Ridge's east side (order
this book from Amazon.com).
Lime
Ridge in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
• View photos from this hike
Lime Ridge Open Space is a vaguely key-shaped 
parcel
of land stretching from Concord south into Walnut Creek. The open space is cut
into three chunks by two bisecting roads bustling with auto traffic. Each section
generally serves the directly adjacent neighborhoods, offering broad dirt trails
through rolling grassland, perfect for dog walking, and daily strolls or runs.
Lime Ridge hosts no facilities, and many trails are unsigned, but it would be
tough to get lost in this small open space preserve. Southeast of Ygnacio Boulevard
you'll find slightly steeper hills ascending through oaks and then chaparral.
These hills reach toward Mount Diablo State Park, but trail access is blocked
by intervening private lands.
The open space runs right up to housing developments
in ever expanding Walnut Creek and Concord neighborhoods. Historically, lime was
mined here, and the land still bears the scars from years of mineral extractions.
Time has softened the mining wounds and these days you're more likely to notice
fresh green grass draped on the hillsides in winter, and a riot of wildflowers
in spring.
I reached the preserve after a warm-up walk on the
Contra Costa Canal Trail, and Lime Ridge
is a nice destination after a leisurely walk on the flat paved trail that winds
through Walnut Creek.
Start at the Contra Costa Canal Trail on the
east side of Citrus (you can also park at the end of Navaronne Way in the
neighborhood slightly to the east). Walk a few feet on the paved path, cross a
massive water aqueduct, and you'll reach a signed junction. Turn right. Almost
immediately, turn left, following the signs for the California Riding and Hiking
Trail.
The dirt multi-use path climbs along a fence, and
at 0.10 mile, you'll pass the end of Navaronne Way, on the left. Walk through
the first gate, then turn right and walk through a second gate, entering the
open space.
Spider webs of trails depart steeply uphill to the
left, straight into a valley, and slightly right. Aim for an open space sign visible
near the preserve boundary to the southwest (rightish). The wide trail dips down
into a gully, then climbs gently through grassland. After you pass the information
sign, stay to the left as 
another
trail veers right.
You'll climb easily toward the chaparral cloaked
slopes of the southern section of the preserve. Ignore a side path heading
uphill to the right, and persist on the fire road, where you might see coyote
and bobcat tracks. The trail sweeps around a hill, and at 0.61 mile, reaches an
undersigned junction (just a post with arrows pointing left and right). Traffic
from Ygnacio Valley Road is visible and audible to the right. Take a soft left
(although if you make a hard left you'll eventually end up in the same place).
The broad trail begins to shrink to a tiny trail.
You may notice lumpy looking sections or earth, a crater, and some loose boulders:
this was one of the quarry sites. After a short level stretch, the path passes
a tripod oak stump, and then descends into the valley. After merging with another
trail feeding in from the left, the path heads past an old oak and begin a steep
climb. If you stop to catch your breath, look south for ever-increasing views
past Ygnacio Valley Road to Lime Ridge's far reaches and even further, to the
peaks of Mount Diablo. Squirrels 
are
everywhere, scurrying through the grass, and you might see a redtail hawk soaring
overhead, in search of a quick bite. The grade finally slackens and the trail
swings left along a ridge. At 1.02 miles, you'll reach an unsigned junction at
a saddle. The trail straight heads out of the open space and into a Concord neighborhood.
Turn left.
A side path shoots straight uphill to the right,
an option if you'd like sweeping views in every direction. On the wide path which
skirts the hilltop there are nice views north, south, and west. Visit on a clear
day and you might make out the spine of Las Trampas, the soft hills of Briones,
and the jagged peaks of Mount Diablo. At 1.22 miles, you'll reach yet another
unsigned junction. Turn left.
The trail begins a sharp descent back into the valley,
and from the path you can eyeball your way back out of the open space. At 1.47
miles, bear right at an unsigned junction, then turn left at 1.53
miles, just before the fence line. You'll reach the gate out of the preserve at
1.59 miles, and from there retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 1.69 miles
Last hiked: Monday, November 27, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
parcel
of land stretching from Concord south into Walnut Creek. The open space is cut
into three chunks by two bisecting roads bustling with auto traffic. Each section
generally serves the directly adjacent neighborhoods, offering broad dirt trails
through rolling grassland, perfect for dog walking, and daily strolls or runs.
Lime Ridge hosts no facilities, and many trails are unsigned, but it would be
tough to get lost in this small open space preserve. Southeast of Ygnacio Boulevard
you'll find slightly steeper hills ascending through oaks and then chaparral.
These hills reach toward Mount Diablo State Park, but trail access is blocked
by intervening private lands. 
is a nice destination after a leisurely walk on the flat paved trail that winds
through Walnut Creek.
another
trail veers right. 
are
everywhere, scurrying through the grass, and you might see a redtail hawk soaring
overhead, in search of a quick bite. The grade finally slackens and the trail
swings left along a ridge. At 1.02 miles, you'll reach an unsigned junction at
a saddle. The trail straight heads out of the open space and into a Concord neighborhood.
Turn left.