3-4-12 Five Canyons

The Sunday after hiking with the kids, I still had some time and energy for a short hike, so I did a loop at Five Canyons that I have done many times before. Five Canyons is one of my favorite places for a short hike because it is so near my home in the Fairview district of Hayward. It is one of many places where a large housing development  has given some land to the Regional Park District as mitigation for destruction of the environment on the rest of the land. It makes for an area where the trails are never far from the houses -- not exactly a wilderness experience -- but  it does have some spots that are out of sight and sound of the houses and some nice views from the ridge top.

Darby and I started off from the Recreation Center just off the main road, and followed the Shady Canyon Trail along the creek and under the high bridge of Five Canyons Parkway. This pretty little canyon is one of the places that seems quite removed from all the streets and houses, although it is not far away at all. The trail passes a little pond, mostly overgrown with cattails, and a little further on, we took a right fork and climbed up a steep wooded hill. This is the hard part, and I have to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. We wind around past a row of houses, over a little hill, and across the road. We pass tennis courts and more backyards, and soon head back down into another canyon to the west. Another half mile of ups and downs brings us back to the start.

2.3 mi. -- 550 ft. up and down