Awesome loop through all major trails in Sunol. Green rolling hills, majestic views, plenty of wildflowers in spring.

Location: Sunol Regional Wilderness Preserve

» Official Trail Map: Good quality map showing various trails. Also, see Text Side of the map and Valley Floor area.

To Welch Creek Road (3.0 miles): From the main parking lot for Sunol, follow trails going north, cross a bridge, then turn left onto Shady Glen Trail (0.3 miles) → continue along Flag Hill Trail (1.3 miles) → Flag Hill Road (0.8 miles) → left on High Valley Road (0.4 miles) to reach Welch Creek Road. Turn left, walk along Welch Creek Road (0.2 miles).

Maguire Peaks Loop (5.1 miles): From Welch Creek Road, turn right onto Lower Maguire Peaks Trail (0.8 miles) → left on Maguire Peaks Loop Trail (3.1 miles) → left on Lower Maguire Peaks Trail (0.8 miles). A side trip to Maguire Peaks (0.4 miles round trip) is worthwhile. The trail is not shown on the map. See GPS tracks for its location.

To Main Parking Lot (4.3 miles): From Welch Creek Road, walk south along the road (0.2 miles) → right on High Valley Road (0.4 miles) → left on Vista Grande Road (1.1 miles) → right on Eagle View Trail (0.6 miles) → right on Eagle View Road (0.2 miles) → right on Cave Rocks Road (0.3 miles) → left on Indian Joe Creek Trail (1.5 miles) to return to the main parking lot.

Notes: The initial climb to Flag Hill is pretty steep: about 1000 ft elevation gain in 1.2 miles. The climb is made worthwhile by majestic views of lush green valley views. Vista Grande is another trail with awesome valley views. Indian Joe Creek Trail is especially pleasant when it meanders next to a creek.

Location: 1895 Geary Rd, Sunol, CA 94586 . Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions:

From Fremont: Drive north on I-680 and exit at Calaveras Road. Turn right on Calaveras and proceed to Geary Road, which leads directly into the park.

From Oakland/Berkeley: Drive east on I-580 to the junction with I-680 in Pleasanton. At the junction, go south on I-680 and exit at Calaveras Road/Highway 84 just south of the town of Pleasanton. Turn left onto Calaveras Road and proceed to Geary Road, which leads directly into the park.

From Walnut Creek/Danville: Go south on I-680 and exit at Calaveras Road/Highway 84 just south of the town of Pleasanton. Turn left onto Calaveras Road and proceed to Geary Road, which leads directly into the park.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: $5 per vehicle (last visited: April 2010)

Capacity: Over 20 cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 37.511053     Longitude: -121.828208