Lime Ridge 7-28-14

Mt. Diablo from ridge high point

It was a Monday morning, and I had an appointment in Walnut Creek. Since I was already out there, I decided to take a little hike at Lime Ridge, an area that I have driven by often but never explored. It is an open space park run by the city of Walnut Creek along Ygnacio Valley Road. As I started off at about 11:30, it was a bit warm but there was a nice breeze from the west. As I gently climbed up grassy hills, I noticed that the whole hillside appeared to be much too bumpy to be natural. A lot of the hill had been dug away leaving a few steep slopes with white rocks exposed. I checked later and found that this had been a quarry for limestone that was used to make cement during the first half of the last century. Grass and trees are reclaiming the landscape, but the bumps remain. I followed the Ridge Trail, a single-track heading for the high point. No one else was around, but I could see that these trails were popular with cyclists because there were more tire tracks than footprints. There were wide open views to the north and west.

I came to a trail junction next to a rusty water tank, and chose to continue up the ridge to see what it was like at the top. I kept climbing, now in chaparral dominated by Chamise, and soon came to the high point of the ridge. There was an area closed off with a cyclone fence for some unknown reason, but there were good views from the top. I turned right onto the Lime Ridge Trail, another single-track. It wound down the hill to the west in chaparral and oak woodland with lots of buckeyes. It looked like autumn because the buckeye leaves turn brown in mid-summer rather than fall. When it appeared that I was nearing the bottom of the hill, I left the trail and cut across to the right to the Blue Oak Trail, which I followed back up the hill to the rusty water tank. I went down the other side of the hill on the Paradise Valley Trail which drops into a little valley which is not quite paradise, especially in this dry season, but it is nice enough.

So now I at least have some idea what Lime Ridge is like, and it is pretty nice. Lots of trails and lots of variety in the terrain and vegetation. The route that I took was mostly the result of random wandering around, so it should be easy to figure out a better one. I only explored a relatively small part of the park, so I may go back again some time.

3.25 miles, 750 ft. climb