On Monday, November 10, nineteen Hike-O-Raptors ventured to Bon Tempe and Lagunitas Lakes, in a quiet part of Marin tucked away to the north of Mount Tamalpais. We knew that the day was going to be good when we discovered that Marin Water had suspended parking fees for the day. Everyone arrived early, and as planned, we started off around Bon Tempe Lake. The weather was glorious, with mild temperatures and bright sunshine. The only signs of it being fall were the long shadows, fallen leaves and a proliferation of beautiful mushrooms.
At the Bon Tempe dam we looked down on the western edge of Alpine Lake, the third reservoir in this series of Marin Water reservoirs – the Hike-O-Raptors had hiked down to the other end of Alpine Lake earlier in the year on the popular Cataract Falls trail.
After making our way around Bon Tempe Lake – almost five miles – we appropriated the group picnic area and had a well-earned lunch.
A few in the group had reached their limit at that point, while others did the only significant climb of the day up to the top of the Lake Lagunitas dam. We were rewarded with some fantastic wildlife – a couple of otters, an egret eating one of the newts that we were supposed to be looking out for, and squirrels’ larders in trees – and a wonderful end to a good day out with friends.
Saturday (Nov 1) : To paraphrase the “We ARE traffic” motto of Critical Mass: We ARE Yoly’s clientele, especially when we take almost all the chairs.
This past Sunday (10/26) 13 riders ignored the fog and mist and enjoyed great comradery riding in the East Bay hills. Most of the group did the Wildcat/El Toyonal descent to Orinda and then enjoyed coffee, pastry and lively conversation at Si Si’s in Moraga, before climbing back over Pinehurst.
If you are unfamiliar with the El Toyonal option for avoiding the closure on Wildcat Canyon, the graphic below shows the El Toyonal route from Wildcat to Orinda highlighted in blue.
Eight HikeORaptors met in Briones Park on Monday, October 20, and hit the trail shortly after 9 a.m.
Alvin , Katie , Fiona, John, Karen , Marleen , Gary, and Jill
Due to an inattentive leader, the original route was extended by an additional mile, from the Bear Creek Staging Area up Abrigo Valley to Briones Crest Trail. Fortified by a snack at one of the most scenic benches in the park district, we proceeded to Table Top Trail, rejoined Briones Crest Trail, then descended on Seaborg back to the Bear Creek Staging Area. This route follows the crest of the hills (some ups and downs, quite steep!), and affords fantastic views – first of the Bay and delta, then over to Mount Diablo, and finally south.
We totalled 7.7 miles with 1,135 feet of elevation gain. It was a glorious fall day, with enough of a breeze to temper the warm temperatures.
The wildlife included coyotes, a snake, a new calf (maybe not wildlife), and some amazing raptors.
We noted the ponds where newts come to mate in winter, but there was no sign of them on this warm October day.
All in all, a good time was had by all.
On Sunday – Sept 29, VeloRaptors and Bike East Bay celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Bay Bridge Trail by riding the trail out to Yerba Buena Island, then riding back and continuing on north to Richmond. Over 60 riders representing the wide demographics of the Bay Area came to mark the occassion.
Amanda Carson from Bike East Bay was the primary organizer, and Steve Blair from the VeloRaptors led the motley group over the route. Amanda gave a HUGE shout out to Corey, Jan, Steve, Walden, Dani and Robert for helping out with the ride! These rides would not be possible without the help of volunteers, so thank you so much for your support!
Also, Gavin from MTC (Metropolitan Transit Commission) for shared information on future plans for the Bay Bridge East Span Path. Implementation of the plan over the next few years will make it possible to bike from Oakland to San Francisco!
VeloRaptors were out in force in September, roaming the various parts of the East Bay!
Hello fellow VeloRaptors (HikeORaptors),
This is a recap regarding the hike at Tilden Regional Park held recently.
Alma L, Henk vA, Jill W, Richard S, Becky M, Scott M, David G (Phillip’s Brother), Kathy T (barely visible over David’s left shoulder), Sally M, Phillip G, Bertrand T, and Gary M pictured above. (Karen G not pictured here but attended too)
We had 12 members (and one guest) attend the hike on Monday 9/15/25 and we were ready to go by 9:40 from Inspiration Point in Tilden:
The first part of the hike was down the shady Curran Trail, then we connected with Wildcat Gorge up to the Dam / Spillway side of Lake Anza.
We took a minute to visit with each other at the lake and then continued our hike on the Selby Trail across the park.
We got to the Little Farm area of Tilden and took another break there. Refilled our water and used the bathrooms, then peeked into the bunnies, chickens, ducks, and pigs too.
The group was moving well and the temps were starting to get warm at this point, so we took our time getting to Jewel Lake (pretty dry this time of year), and took a break there too.
Next the sunny climb up to Wildcat Peak started.
It was a beautiful clear day and we were able to see the S.F. Bay, Mt. Tamalpais, all bridges and islands, and then if you turned around there was Mt. Diablo.
Once we were done catching our breath and taking pictures from the top of Wildcat Peak, we started off for the redwood tree Rotary Peace Grove.
After reading all the interesting names on the monuments and enjoying the shade of the trees there we headed down to the last part of the hike on the asphalt Nimitz Way Trail back to the cars and a well deserved lunc
The complete hike took a little more than 3.5 hours (including multiple rests and picture stops), total distance of 7.85 miles and an elevation of 1120′ of climbing.
Monday’s weather started fine and by the end of the hike, had turned very warm, which made the trails not crowded since it was also a weekday!
Please keep an eye open for the next hike if the above description interests you; we will keep offering hikes all over the bay area as time and weather allows!
Thank you,
Gary McCormick
Due to construction on Wildcat Canyon Rd and Tunnel Road we have had to alter our Sunday and Wednesday routes. Our regular start times and locations remain the same, but the exact route may change on any given day. Additional information for rides on a given day can be found on the calendar.
Work to rebuild the washout on Wildcat Canyon has definitely started and the road really is CLOSED!
Photo taken from San Pablo Dam Rd. courtesy of David K.
Nine intrepid VeloRaptors met at the Tennessee Valley Trailhead in Mill Valley at 10:00 AM for a coastal adventure, the Tennessee Valley Golden Gate loop, which is one of the top rated hikes in the area on AllTrails. The loop is about 5.5 miles long but has some steep ups and downs. Some points, where we descended steeply towards cliffs, weren’t for those who dislike heights!
We started with a gentle descent towards the ocean before heading uphill on the Coastal Trail. This led us up over cliffs with dramatic views of breaking surf, then down (steeply) to just above Pirate’s Cove. The trail then took us inland and uphill again, to just above Muir Beach. From there we took the Coastal Fire Road further uphill, before descending back on the Fox Trail. The sun never managed to break through the fog, so the sunscreen and hats weren’t needed on this outing!
Over lunch at the trail head we celebrated Gary’s birthday with lemon bars. The recipe for these will be appearing soon on the VeloRaptor Website!
