I hooked up with my friend Nick to ride the 12 mile Lake Chabot Bike Loop at the Anthony Chabot Regional Park. It is pretty much all I have to be able to do it in around 2 hours, including some walking up some hills and a few stops. I really like the park and the more I go there the more I like it. Major props to the Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay for helping keep open and open many trails in the area.
When I got there a running event was wrapping up. It was a little cloudy and cool, perfect running weather.
Check here for more on these East Bay running events.
Nick is an A class off road motorcycle rider, he rides alot and is really fast, me um not so much. On a good day I am a mid pack C rider. I have been riding my old GT MTB to get in better shape in hopes of doing some off road racing next season. Anyway we hooked up about 9 am under clearing skies and headed out from the Lake Chabot marina on the East Shore Trail.
I decided to do the loop counterclockwise, so that the steep climb up from the lake could be done while I had fresh legs, it also makes for a longer ride down to the north end before you climb again and turn back.
From the marina you head out on a smooth wide paved road, it runs along the lake and has great views with just a few rolling sections, nothing too hard. Towards the back by Honker Bay the pavement ends and you come to a very narrow bridge.
As soon as you cross the bridge there is a trail to the left that follows the lake but if you are doing The Loop you will see it signed to head uphill. It is pretty steep and for Nick he rode up in his smallest gear, for me it was off the bike and time to hike it up Live Oak Trail.
You wind around some but mostly are on a thigh burning climb. It takes you on a ridge above the Willow Park golf course.
Nick was still riding and I was still hucking my bike to the top as I kept thinking how much fun it will be to ride down the back side. We got to just about the very top in about 2.5 miles and had this view of Honker Bay. Now that is a climb!
We continued to the paved road that takes you to the Puma Point Campground, we stay on the dirt trail "Towhee" to the right and climb a little more to the real summit at the intersection with Brandon Trail. From here you have lots of options. You could go down the big climb you just did, or head to the right on Brandon and make a big loop to Redwood Road and back to the marina. But to do the Lake Chabot Bike Loop we followed Brandon to the left that soon took up to the staging area and parking lot at Marciel Road. On the right is a fun trail that runs along the ridge top called Redtail Trail that will take you along the top of the park's ridge eventually dropping down to Bort Meadow. That is a fun ride, but we stay on The Loop and stay on Brandon. Now it is getting easier as we coast and ride downhill. Yea baby! On the pedals and feeling the old creaky bike doing its thing!
We pass by the very busy Chabot Gun Club and meet a few other riders and horses on the northern half of The Loop. Everybody says hi and gets along fine. We go about 3 miles from the staging area mentioned above, all of it big fun along a winding trail in the trees. The sun is out but we are under a canopy of big eucalyptus trees. At the bottom we hit the Stone Bridge, called that because it is a stone bridge! I took a time out here.
Spiffy Ed "Big Daddy" Roth Rat Fink jersey by Canari cause I know somebody is going to ask!
Lots of trails intersect here. You can continue to the right on Brandon then come back on Grass Valley, that makes a nice loop. Just behind me is a great trail (but off limits for bikes) called Cascade Trail that follows the creek and connects to Lake Chabot at Bass Cove. It is a beautiful hiking trail.
We are now at the most northern point of the ride and it is time to head back. Nick is doing fine, I am pretty beat, but I know there is only one major climb left, and I do it all the time, so we head up Jackson Grade. The maps say it is .39 to the top but I think that is wrong, it is more like .6 to Skyline Blvd. I think. Anyway I am grinding in the lowest gear and Nick is doing wheelies as we get to the top.
This trail takes you to the end of Skyline and Grass Valley Road in the Oakland hills. Head down Grass Valley and you pass the Lake Chabot Municipal Golf Course then the entrance to the Oakland Zoo. We ride back to the marina heading left on Goldenrod (going to the right takes you to the horse stables.) After a quick climb it is a fun downhill trail as we pass the golf course and soon the lake is in view. The trails change names first to Bass Cove then West Shore Trail. The lake looks great and the view briefly takes my mind off my burning legs.
The trails along the lake are pretty crowded so we take it easy. It is a nice thing about the lake that you see so many kids and families out on a Saturday, but also bike riders, joggers, and older folks out on a nice summer day in the East Bay hills.
Our ride takes 2 hours 15 minutes for about 12 miles. Nick could have done it in less. So if you are a fit kind of guy, hey do it twice! For me that is a good work out in a beautiful place. Get a bike, get out there, and give the Lake Chabot Bike Loop a try. Like Martin Yan (kind of) says "if Big Rick can do it so can you!"
There are free maps at all the trail heads, get a map and bring lots of water. Here's a list of the trails from the Lake Chabot marina going counterclockwise.
East Shore Trail 1.76 miles (very busy!)
cross bridge .11 miles
Live Oak Trail .90 miles (steep climb!)
right on Towhee to Brandon .27 miles (climb over!)
Brandon to Stone Bridge 3.27 miles (big fun!)
Jackson Grade .42 miles (steep short climb!)
left on Goldenrod 1.46 miles (bigfun!)
Bass Cove Trail 1.33 miles (some rolling climbs)
cross dam
West Shore Trail 1.82 miles (very busy)
Oh and one more thing. Who was Anthony Chabot? Glad you asked! He was all about the water!
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