Miller/Knox
Regional Shoreline,
East Bay Regional Park District,
Contra Costa County
In brief:
1.3 mile loop on hills above Point Richmond.
Getting there:
From Highway 580 in Contra Costa County, exit Canal/Garrard (exit 8). Drive
south on Canal (if you've exited from westbound 580, turn left at the base of
the exit ramp/from eastbound 580, turn right at the base of the exit ramp) one
block to West Cutting. Turn right and at the first stop sign turn left onto
South Garrard. Drive through the tunnel and then about 0.3 mile more (now you'll
be on Dornan Drive), to the first signed park entrance on the right side of
the road.
Trailhead details:
No parking or entrance fees. Lots of parking. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms
throughout the park's developed western area. Maps at information signboard.
Drinking water available in the park's lagoon area. The park has handicapped-designated
parking spots, and the western, lagoon-area of the park is highly wheelchair-accessible.
There is no direct public transportation to the park, but AC Transit bus #73
will drop you within walking distance: visit the Transit
Info website for details.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Pay phones, gas, restaurants, and stores about 0.6 mile northwest in Point Richmond.
No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.3 mile loop hike is easy. Trailhead elevation is about
12 feet, and the hike's high point is about 312 feet. Total elevation change
is about 400 feet.
Rules:
The trails on the eastern side of this park are designated hiking only. Dogs
are permitted. Park is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Official Story:
EBRPD's Miller/Knox
page
EBRPD's
Miller/Knox brochure (pdf)
Park office: 510-235-1631
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region (or better yet, West
Contra Costa Communities) map to get there.
• Map
from EBRPD
• David Weintraub's East Bay Trails has a simple map and trail descriptions
(order
this book from Amazon.com).
• Simple
map from the Bay Trail website (another Bay
Trail webpage has more info on the park and some photos).
• View photos from the
hike through the park's eastern area.
• View photos from the walk around
the lagoon.
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline is a 260 acre grassy hillside
and shoreline park, divided by Dornan Drive. Rarely in the bay 
area
will you find a park with two such split personalities. The west section is
dominated by a lagoon, and borders San Francisco Bay (although fenced Santa
Fe Railroad tracks keep you away from the shoreline). A 1-mile paved walking
trail levelly winds through a manicured park with attractive shade trees, picnic
tables, and a playground. Across the street, Miller/Knox presents a completely
different face to the visitor. Trails are unsigned, and shortcuts are frequent;
it's no wonder considering the inappropriately graded "official" paths.
Even though the trails are narrow, they climb up hillsides as if they were fire
roads (this is why switchbacks are smart management tools; give hikers an easier
grade up a hill and they will take it, at least most of the time). With no switchbacks,
hillsides are eroded and scored throughout this area of the park. While the
western half of the eastern section (if you can follow my logic) looks out on
San Francisco Bay, Mount Tamalpais, Angel Island, and San Francisco, once east
of the ridge line the views take a decidedly urban turn. Industrial Richmond,
with all its attendant noises and sights, sprawls right up to the park's boundary.
You
can check out the trails in this part of Miller/Knox if you are curious, but
I recommend that you stick to the area west of the ridge.
With only a few miles of trails, Miller/Knox won't
hold the attention of most bay area hikers. It's convenient if you live nearby
(especially if you have dogs), but it's a small park. Some folks use the paved
trail around the lagoon as a lunchtime exercise loop. If you enjoy easy shoreline
strolls, check out spacious Point Pinole Regional
Shoreline, a few miles north. Families will probably appreciate the attractive
facilities, and use Miller/Knox for picnics and romps around the lagoon. If
you are a train buff, you could combine a visit to Miller/Knox with a tour of
the Golden State Railroad Museum,
right across Dornan Drive from the park. There's also a small bit of shoreline
access at Keller Beach, which is off Western Drive, the first street to the
right as you come out of the tunnel.
Somehow it seems appropriate that an industrial
buffer such as Miller/Knox boosts such charming wildflower displays. What better
contrast to drab industrial Richmond than a hillside of colorful flowers? 
When
I visited in mid-February, California poppies were blooming, and milkmaids,
buttercups, johnny-jump-ups, and bluedicks were just unfurling. Spring is definitely
the season to visit.
Start at the parking lot, cross the street,
and look for a trail behind a small roadside pullout, marked by a "park
curfew" sign (you should be to the south of the Richmond Ramblers building).
After a few feet, the slight path, open to hikers only, crosses a marshy area
on a wooden boardwalk. You might see dock, an edible plant common in wet areas,
along with coyote brush and willow. Once through the damp marsh, the trail begins
a brief climb through coast live oak, toyon, poison oak, and coyote brush. Shortcuts
make the navigating tough. There are a few stairs, and then you'll reach an
unsigned T junction at about 250 feet. Turn right.
The hiking only path climbs to an exposed drop-off,
revealing initial views of the lagoon area, the bay, and Point Richmond. Then
the trail descends through a grassy area, 
dotted
in winter with flowering broom and California poppies. Spur paths from the right
join the trail as it cuts across a hillside populated with toyon and pine. At
0.3 mile, the trail forks at an undersigned junction (a signpost with a walking
stickfigure caption doesn't help much). Bear right and head uphill through
toyon, blackberry, and monkeyflower to West Ridge Point. At 0.4, you'll reach
a flat hilltop, and the end of this trail. From here there are unobstructed
views of San Francisco, Angel Island, Mount Tamalpais, and San Francisco Bay.
When you're ready to continue, retrace your steps to the previous junction,
and bear right.
The trail begins to climb slightly, through grassland
where you might see wild radish and California poppies in the winter. Then the
path shoots sharply up the hillside; several paths have been worn through the
grass, so just pick one and head uphill. The ascent is steep, but short, and
the trail eases up a bit, then reaches an unsigned junction at 0.9 mile. A bench
is a welcome sight for weary lungs. At about 300 feet,
there are pleasant views in all directions (well, to the east there are views
of Richmond, and that's not so pleasant). When I visited after the snowstorm
in February 2001, it was fun to scan the surrounding hills for snowfall. Vollmer
Peak and Mount Tam were dusted, and the mountains to the distant north (Napa
and Solano Counties) were liberally coated with white. I watched two kestrels
perching on power lines and hovering while they searched for prey (maybe they
should give the squirrels near the lagoon a buzz). From this junction, you can
head east on Crest Trail (there's no sign, but that's what the map calls the
wide paved trail) to East Vista Point, or continue downhill to the park's border
and back uphill to the west, joining the featured hike at the octopus junction
described below. It's an easy loop that will add on about 1 mile to your hike,
but be warned, this section of Miller/Knox blurs the distinction between blank
industrial land and park. So for this hike, walk north (left if you're
standing facing Richmond) from the junction behind the 
bench.
The hiking-only trail ambles across False Gun
Vista Point, then plummets downhill to the north. A few steps don't help much,
as they are steep and the earth around them eroded. At about 1 mile, you'll
reach a real octopus junction. The first path to the right heads down to the
industrial area, and then path to the left of that (with the steps), climbs
to Nicholl Knob. A rough path, the first on your left, also descends, but choose
the second clockwise path.
This charming trail, open to hikers only, angles
along the hillside, where you might see bluedicks and California poppies in
the winter. At 1.05 miles, there's another of the park's undersigned junctions.
(You can extend this hike by continuing straight on what the map shows as Marine
View Trail.) Turn left.
After just a few steps downhill, the trail splits
at an unmarked junction. Bear left. The land around here is prone to
landslides, so watch out for sudden drop-offs. The path squeezes through some
willow and coast live oak. A primitive board bridge guides you across a washed-out
area, then you pass through a moist hillside with toyon and coyote brush lining
the trail. Look for milkmaids, johnny-jump-ups, and California buttercups in
winter. At 1.25 miles, you'll reach a previously encountered junction. Turn
right and retrace your steps to the trailhead.
Total distance: 1.3 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, February 13, 2001
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
Miller/Knox
Regional Shoreline,
