It was a beautiful fall day and I felt like getting outdoors for a while, but not for a long hike. It seems that lately my hikes have been getting shorter and easier, but I haven't yet given up on longer ones. While thinking about places to go I remembered that several years ago when I checked out the regional parks Trail Challenge, one of the trails listed was at the north end of Del Valle, an area I had never seen. We have been horse camping several times at Del Valle in past years, and have ridden on some of the trails, but always at the south end of the lake where most of the facilities are -- marina, swimming areas, campgrounds. At the north end, there is not so much going on. There is Camp Arroyo, a youth camp used by the YMCA and the Taylor Family Foundation, there is the dam, which is a restricted area, and there is a trail leading south to the reservoir.
Darby and I drove out there at mid-day, passing Sycamore Grove park, the Veterans Hospital, and Wente Winery to the Arroyo Road Staging Area. The trail passes through an old walnut orchard, crosses the creek, and begins climbing the hill rather steeply. Soon views open to the north of Wente's vineyards and golf course and the valley beyond. The steep grade doesn't let up until you reach the top of the hill, and there before you is a great view of the lake. I had expected to get a good view of the dam, but it is hidden behind a hill in a restricted area. I could see the East Shore Trail descending along the treeless hills, looping around Heron Bay, and the Heron Bay Trail heading down closer to the shore. I had thought about making a loop using those trails which would add a couple more miles, but now that I could see the trails, they didn't look that interesting. We just turned around and headed back down the hill.
We were on the trail only a little over an hour, but climbing the hill had given us plenty of exercise and we enjoyed the views.
2.0 miles, 500 ft. climb
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