Today I hiked another of the Trails Challenge hikes. I chose a moderate hike today because I wanted a hike that I could complete in a couple of hours this morning. I picked this hike also because I’ve never done the Cascade Trail in Anthony Chabot Regional Park before. The hike was a nice loop that starts out downhill.
I began hiking towards the stone bridge. If you’ve hiked in this area before, the stone bridge is kind of a landmark with many trails coming together at the bridge. Just before the bridge I turned down the Cascade Trail. It was a lovely narrow trail that meanders along a cliff and approaches a stream that feeds into Lake Chabot. There was an interesting warning on the trails challenge map about seasonal flooding, but since our drought is so severe this year, I wasn’t too concerned. When I reached the stream bed, it was completely dry.
There was a ton of poison oak along this trail, mostly green, so easy to miss unless you are really looking for it. I did see this lovely little red flower, that I show in the photo, it is called Indian Pink and is a native California wildflower. So, I can check off another native wildflower learned today!
I continued to follow the stream bed and soon was walking along a trail that I’ve been on before, when I hike around Lake Chabot. I only walked a short way along the lake and then headed back up towards Skyline Boulevard towards my car. I passed the Lake Chabot Golf Course and walked along the cart path and then back to the car. Interesting fact, Lake Chabot Golf Course has a hole with a par 6!
I did see signs for the Lake Chabot Bicycle Loop, which I’d love to do someday. It’s a 12.4 mile bike loop around the lake. There is also the Lake Chabot Hiking Loop which I’ve done a couple times before and hope to do again this summer. It is a 9 mile hike around the lake with beautiful views. Also, I’ve been tempted for years now to camp at the campgrounds! I would miss having a campfire though, maybe next year. We need some rain! And I wrote about another hike at Lake Chabot Regional Park, click here if you’re interested.
Have you ever camped at Lake Chabot campgrounds?
Start/end: Clyde Woolridge Staging Area
Trail names: Jackson Grade, Cascade, Columbine, Bass Cove, Goldenrod
Approximate mileage: 3.8
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