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Community Corner

Park of the Month: Augustin Bernal Park

Revel in the great outdoors and see the city from new heights at Augustin Bernal Park and the new Blue Oak Knoll trail.

Searching for a way to get back to nature without committing to the woodland hermit lifestyle Γ  la Henry David Thoreau? Look no further than your own backyard, to Augustin Bernal Park.

Located on the top and eastern face of Pleasanton Ridge, the park has 237 acres of natural, open space and eight different trails. With the city developing a new trail, called the Blue Oak Knoll Trail, hikers and bikers will soon have more opportunities to get up close and personal with native flora and fauna.

Ecology lovers will revel in the abundance of species that can be seen with a short stroll, including California Sycamores, Coast Live and California Black Oaks, and the exotically named Monkey Flower and Coffeeberry plants. But adventurers be warned, Poison Oak, recognizable by its three scalloped leaflets, can be found in dense shrubs along the trail.

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Previously a part of Golden Eagle Ranch, the park was granted to the city in 1971 by Walter S. Johnson, a philanthropist and businessman who was well known for his support of local projects. The acreage was donated under the condition that it would function as public park space and maintained by the city. Dubbed Augustin Bernal Park, after the Spanish settler who originally owned the land, the park is now accessible via the Golden Eagle Estates gated community. Mr. Johnson's generosity is commemorated on an engraved plaque near the entrance to Golden Eagle Trail.

Stay on the designated path and you shouldn't be deterred from hiking or horseback riding along the parks eight trails. The two longest are Valley View Trail and the new Blue Oak Knoll Trail.

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Follow the butterflies up the 1.63 miles of Valley View, where you can peer through branches of Oak and Buckeye for views of the Livermore Amador Valley and Mount Diablo. At higher points of the ridge you can see all the way to Kilkare Canyon, Mission Peak and the Ohlone Wilderness.

Blue Oak Knoll Trail

The existing section of the Blue Oak Knoll Trail was a "social trail" (and no, this does not translate to "party trail"). This means the trail was developed without the intention or design of the city but was used by park-going Pleasantonians.

BlueΒ  Oak Knoll is located at 1560 feet elevation.Β  A new section of the trail will connect with Valley View Trail as it crests the ridge grade.Β 

Park Maintenance Supervisor Stan Gibson said the new section will travel north, meandering slightly along the crest of the Pleasanton Ridge.The trail connects with the existing Ridge Line Trail at the northern park property line by the East Bay Regional Park District Property.

Mike Sedlak, a member of the city's Trail Ad Hoc Committee, said Blue Oak Knoll was created in the early 90s. Sedlak said over the years bootleg or social trails sometimes pop up in parks.

These can at times be problematic when there are erosion problems and there is no designated authority for maintenance.

Sedlak said, however, that Blue Oak Knoll is a particularly well-made trail.

"[It's] a good walking trail, it's not too steep, not too narrow so you get the feeling of the woods around you," said Sedlak. "It follows the ridge ... it turns out to be a very good example of how a trail should look like."

Thus, the City of Pleasanton decided to adopt and manage Blue Oak Knoll as an official trail, using its resources to redesign and realign damaged sections. Gibson said that "a well-designed trail incorporates both sustainability and user utility."

The new section of the Blue Oak Trail is being designed with this sentiment in mind, including elements that will require little maintenance while protecting natural resources and making the trail fun and user-friendly. The city's largest task in this transition is creating a consistent and walkable slope within the trail that does not conflict with the mountain's natural water flow.

Once this is accomplished the new "legal" trail will be more beautiful, navigable and environmentally friendly.

*Important Note: Augustin Bernal Park is located in a gated community and access is restricted. Pleasanton residents must present proof of residency and non residents must obtain a weekly pass from the Department of Parks and Community Services. For more details please see the City of Pleasanton website.

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