Briones Reservoir (East Bay Municipal Utility District)
 PERMITS       MAP

Bear Creek Trail B - D; ****; 1+ miles; Rainy Weather No

Oursan Trail C - ?; ****; 2+ miles; Rainy Weather No

Since I first visited Briones Regional Park, shortly after the reservoir was filled in 1964, I've wished I could hike by the water instead of into the hills of the park. Last year we finally got a permit ($10/year) to hike on EBMUD trails, and it turns out Briones Reservoir is just as beautiful close up as it is looking down from Bear Creek Road. But no route starting from the Bear Creek Staging Area, across the road from the Regional Park entrance, is ideally accessible in a wheelchair.

Right at the trailhead Bear Creek Trail gets tough, dropping on a 30 inch wide single track down to the creek, which it fords on a concrete spillway. In June the water was about 3 inches deep, but anything more would have stopped me. The steepness of this section would stop many other people in wheelchairs, and that's too bad, because once it climbs out of the creek bed, the trail joins a fire road and becomes wide, almost level and very pleasant for at least half a mile. A locked gate connects this fire road to Bear Creek Road, and it might be worth asking rangers at Briones Regional Park a few hundred yards away if they can open it for you.

The half mile point is where the trail reaches the reservoir, and in fact this road goes right into the water--evidently it predates the filling of the lake. This would be a fine place to launch a kayak! Fortunately, the trail continues along the shore, climbing the hillside in pleasant mixed woods with views through the trees over the water. Here we found a single, backless bench. From there on the trail narrowed and became more difficult, and about 1.3 mile from the trailhead, shortly before the trail reconnects with Bear Creek Road, I was defeated by soft going on steep hillsides.

Oursan Trail, proceeding counterclockwise around the same lake, is quite different, though maybe just as difficult. It's rough hard dirt, good and steep right from the start, climbing over a grassy knob before proceeding more comfortably along the shore. I went only this far, but there's reason to hope (map and satellite photo) that once past that first obstacle the trail will stay wide and (hugging the shore) relatively level for a good 3 miles, and since it's presumably a service road, maybe it's well maintained? I want to go back and find out.

Details: The Bear Creek Staging area is on the left just before the Briones Park entrance going east on Bear Creek Road. There is an accessible portable toilet, but no designated parking in the small lot (unlikely to be crowded). On leash pet dogs are permitted only on Oursan Trail; bicycles are not permitted on any unpaved EBMUD trail. Last visit June 2009.