For today's hike we went to Joaquin Miller park in Oakland. The park is about 30min drive from our home and on the way to the park we collected a couple of friends who joined us on today's excursion. The park features nice views of Oakland and the bay and is one of the view 'city' parks where you can stroll into a Redwood grove.
Hike description
All in all it was an easy half-day hike of 4.9 miles (7.9km) that was perfect for us and our friends. We used the time to stroll and chat a lot. During the hike we enjoyed the mixture between views of the Oakland urban area and the Redwood trees and deep forest vegetation. The most strenuous part was when we were trying to short-cut our way to a cache and had to climb over a little hill (straight up on one side and down on the other).
Height profile of our hike.
The hike was not too long and we had plenty of time to relax in between. There are nice picnic areas in the Redwoods and you can enjoy your lunch whilst looking at the wildlife and vegetation around you. View Map
Picture time
Fortunately Doris took a bunch of pictures:
On the top of the hill.
Inside the Redwood grove.
Lunch in the grove and in the sun.
Looking for GeoCaches.
Water break.
This cache is well hidden!
One of the more devious cache hideouts!
Summary
The Joaquin Miller park is what I would call a nice picnic park. There are many short trails that you can use to explore the forest while you are still close to a picnic area all the time. Children can play hide-and-seek or other games on the soft forest ground while more grown ups can use some of the trails for biking as well.