Sunol Wilderness

Anteprima: Sunol Regional Wilderness will make you forget you're just five miles from the nearest Interstate highway. The 6,858-acre park in the East Bay hills north of Silicon Valley has rolling hills, heart-healthy trails, remarkable rocks and abundant wildlife. To go there is to see what this part of California looked like before all the white people showed up.

Sunol is best suited for hikers, birders and naturalists, though the large corral near the park HQ attracts a fair number of equestrians. There are no easy paths to the tall hills surrounding the HQ, but if you're got the legs and heart for a god work-out, you'll find astounding vistas when your climbing''s done.

Winter and spring are the best times to go. It gets a bit too hot in July and August, but early autumn is a great time to see randy tarantulas on the hunt for mates (oddly enough, a spider the size of your fist in the wilderness is not nearly as frightful as the one the size of a dime in your bathroom).

Consigli: Trails can be quite steep, which can be as hard on knees on the way down as they are on the rest of you on the way up.

Cattle are common. Generally they are harmless but keep your distance and don't scare them. Also: watch for their poop.

Poison oak is common along narrow trails.

Rattlesnakes often dwell in rocky areas: be extremely careful about where you put you hands, feet or fingers, especially on warm days when the snakes might be active. (I never saw a single rattler in over a dozen visits to Sunol, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there).

What to bring:
Sun screen -- Sunol is largely unshaded
Layers and especially a wind breaker.
Hiking supplies (especially water) if you're hitting the trails.
Camera
Binoculars

Driving directions:
From I-680, turn off at Calaveras Road exit and turn southeast on Calaveras Road (a left turn if you're coming from Pleasanton; a right turn if you're coming from Fremont). Take Calaveras for about four miles to Geary Road, turn left and go 1.8 miles to the park entrance.