Dublin Hills Regional Park

Dublin Hills Regional Park occupies 654 acres (2.650,000 m2) in Alameda County, California, west of Dublin City. It is part of the District of East Bay Regional Park (EBRPD). The park is accessible from the Donlon Hill Staging area on Dublin Boulevard, near Dublin, California.

 

Dublin Hills Regional Park is approximately 654 acres in an undeveloped open-air corridor consisting of a main ridge linking Donlon Point on the Park's southern border to Wiedemann Peak, situated on the adjacent private property to the north, interspersed with steep canyons. Parkland is bounded by Interstate 580 to the south, Schaefer Ranch to the southwest, private grassland to the north, northeast and northwest, and California Highlands to the southeast.

 

The largest trail in the park, the two-mile Calaveras Ridge Regional Trail, parallels the Calaveras Ridge to the Dublin Hills. Towards the end of the trail, the Calaveras Ridge merges with the higher mountains, and the trail splits, both sections coming to an end at a private property shortly afterwards. The Calaveras Trail is not going to the top of Donlon Point. To ascend Donlon Stage, you must take a 1/3-mile path to the top of this hill.

 

A network of short trails (the Donlon Loop Trail) leads to the construction of housing along Dublin Boulevard. In this housing development, hikers are not permitted to park. With this network of short paths, a loop can be made, although this path is too narrow for cyclists and riders. A further Martin Canyon Creek Trail, which links both the Donlon Loop Trail and the Calaveras Ridge Trail, heads in the direction of the open-air Martin Canyon Creek Trail. Other short trails end at the edge of the park.

 

Cooper's hawks, a state species of special concern, live in the area, as do red tailed hawks, northern harriers, white-tailed kites, California horned larks, loggerhead shrikes, and big-horned owls. The Golden Eagle, a state species of special importance as well as a fully protected species, uses the Dublin Hills grasslands for hunting.

 

Dublin Hills wetland areas include wetlands, seasonal runoff and annual seeds that can be used as a source of food or water for a variety of wildlife, such as coyotes, eagles, deer and occasional migratory shorebirds. Ponds are likely to benefit amphibians typically found in areas such as California Newt, Tiger Salamander, Pacific Tree Frog, and possibly California Red-legged Frog, a federally endangered species, and state species of concern. A few species of ducks are known to use the park's ponds during the winter season. Dublin Hills' several seasonal streams and springs provide an important source of water for wildlife and provide additional habitat for amphibians.

 

California's annual grassland is the dominant plant species in Dublin Hills and occupies nearly 300 acres of the ridgelands. The grassland is composed of native and non-native annual and perennial grasses interspersed with several native and non-native forb plants. Grasslands also stretch under the canopy of the woods around the edges of the oak-bay trees. The primary watersheds are dominated by the coast of living oak along the outer edges of the California Bay Laurel, which is concentrated in the drainage basins. The understory at the bottom of the drainage is almost barren due to the wide covering of the fallen bay leaves. The shrublands are a relatively small plant population within Dublin Hills and are characterized by coyote brush and poison oak scattered along the southern edge of the oak-bay forest.