Completed: May 6, 2023 | Elevation: 1,138′ | Trail: Donlon Point via Calaveras Ridge Trail | Distance: 1.3 miles
The hike to Donlon Point was a short but sweet, the trailhead starting adjacent to a planned community called Schaefer Ranch in Dublin. Since we had been away two weekends in a row and needed some time at home to get things done, we picked this as a simple one that we could knock out quickly. In the middle of the afternoon, with a baseball game in San Francisco, we were going against traffic and made it out to Dublin Hills Regional Park in 40 minutes with negligible traffic.
The trail started out by paralleling the back of some houses before turning sharply east. There were shortcuts to avoid walking the entire length of the switchbacks and soon we could see the rolling hills of the East Bay.
A sign marked the way to Donlon Point and as we crested a small knoll we saw a bench and views of Dublin/Pleasanton stretched out before us. Looking back we could see all the way to San Francisco.
Mission accomplished, we headed back to the car, feeling a bit guilty that that was all we were going to do (the hike took us about 40 minutes) given the distance we drove. To make the trip more worthwhile, we stopped in Oakland for a drink at Sante Adairius, a craft beer brewery located near Chinatown. Although we didn’t quite earn our beers, it was fun nonetheless to get out and find something new.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
This trail only scratched the surface of the Dublin Hills Regional Park. From Donlon Point we could see the Calaveras Ridge Trail continuing farther into the heart of the park. While I don’t see myself coming back to this park anytime soon, it’s definitely a nice perk for the families that live near it, especially this time of year, with cooler weather and green hills sprinkled with splashes of wildflowers.