The East Bay Regional Park District is considering a plan to develop a bike-optimized trail corridor in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in response to the increased popularity of mountain biking.
In 2020, the Northern California chapter of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association informed the Park District that high school and middle school mountain bike teams in the East Bay are growing in parallel with the increasing popularity of mountain biking nationwide. Those teams are racking up about 40,000 riding hours in a season on the same multi-use trails shared by everyone, but are permitted to use just 1.5 miles of single-track trails in Tilden and Wildcat Canyon parks. The increase in both mountain bike users and park goers can create conflict on the trails.
In response, the Park District staff developed a conceptual trail corridor for bike users that aims to alleviate pressure on the current trail system while avoiding or minimizing impacts to sensitive plant and animal communities.
“The proposed trail corridor runs through open grassland along a southwest facing ridgeline with views of the San Francisco Bay,” the Park District stated. “It is centrally located within Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, with access from the Alvarado Staging Area via the Wildcat Creek Trail or by way of the Nimitz Trail from the Inspiration Point Staging Area.”
The Park District is asking community members to share their thoughts in a survey about the potential development of the bike trail. For more information, visit the Park District webpage on this topic here, or view the April 25 informational meeting video below.
