Visitors 40
Modified 15-Feb-23
Created 31-Mar-20
0 photos
Starting at the Grandmother Tree at the junction near the crest of Coal Mine Ridge, Coalmine Trail leads along the top of the Ridge, back down. A little way along, an opening in the trees reveals a nice view of the Peninsula, San Francisco Bay, to Mt. Diablo in clear weather.
A little more open than Toyon Trail, still mostly wooded, Coalmine Trail has room for many flowers in spring. It passes a seasonal vernal pond. Switchbacks reveal different perspectives on ancient Bay trees, with a glimpse of the grasslands beyond. Mid Old Spanish Trail is out there: it shares the same termini but takes a lower route. Past the connector trail to Lower and Mid Toyon Trails, Coalmine Trail climbs up to the Water Tank and a junction with Mid and Lower Old Spanish Trails. I encountered a shy deer one day, in the tangled forest just below the Water Tank, as I was coming the other way.
The width of Coalmine Trail allows people to walk abreast, and make way for the very occasional equestrian.