Leona Heights Park 6-14-19

York Trail

Some 40 years ago, when I was working on my book, East Bay Trails, I managed to overlook Leona Heights Park, a small Oakland city park below the Merritt College campus. I was aware of its existence, but I guess it appeared to be too small to bother with. A few years ago, I checked out Leona Canyon Regional  Park, and realized that Leona Heights was a separate park on the other side of the hill. On a nice cool Friday, Maureen was away and I was taking care of feeding our horses at the Anthony Chabot Equestrian Center. When I finished, I decided that it would be a good time for a short hike, and Leona Heights Park was nearby.

I exited highway 13 at Redwood Road, turned right onto Mountain Blvd., and after a short distance found a sign for the York Trail  I parked next to a couple of other cars on the side of the road. The trail entered a steep, narrow canyon with a nice little creek cascading over rocks in shady redwood forest. There were several footbridges crossing from one side to the other. As I continued, the trail became steeper and rougher. In many places it was barely wide enough for my feet with a near vertical drop off on the side. Other places bordered on class 3 climbing. So it is not exactly an easy trail, but worth the effort because of its beauty.

After a mile or so, the trail heads steeply up the right bank, and intersects with the McDonell Trail, a much wider and easier trail. A guy with six dogs was coming down it, and he told me that it would lead me back down to Mountain Blvd. The trail appears to be a popular one for dog walkers, and I encountered many more dogs. In the past, that would have been a major concern for me because I usually had my dog, Darby with me. He was fearful of strange dogs approaching him, and I always worried about fights, and I had to break up a few of them. Now that he is gone, I don't have to worry, but it always reminds me of how much I miss him.

View from McDonell Trail

Now out of the canyon, lots of good views open up of Oakland, the bay, and San Francisco. The trail loops back and forth in large switchbacks until it meets paved road, McDonell Ave. This one-lane road continues down through hillside homes to Mountain Blvd. A right turn and a quarter-mile walk took me back to my car.

Near the place where the trail meets the paved road is the site of the Leona Heights Sulfur Mine. I couldn't see much there, and I read that a clean-up project was started there several years ago. The mine was active from the 1890s until the 1930s, and involved tunnels into the hillside.

Another interesting feature of this park is that it contains the only old-growth redwood tree in the entire East Bay. The tree is named "Old Survivor", and it is on the steep hillside between the York Trail and the McDonell Trail. It is off the trail in dense forest, which is probably why I missed it.

This beautiful hike was a lot of fun, but don't be fooled by its short distance. It was a pretty strenuous workout because of the steepness and roughness of the trail. At least plenty strenuous for my 74-year-old body.

2.2 miles, 400 ft. climb