Park Happenings for October

(Please feel free to use excerpts. Photos available at https://bit.ly/ParkHappeningsOct2024)

East Bay Regional Park District visitors can help reduce fire dangers. October is peak fire season and a time of year to be extra vigilant and fire smart in East Bay Regional Parks. Warm days, extreme dry conditions, and the early winds of fall can bring potentially dangerous fire conditions. Weather conditions are closely monitored to assess wildfire risks so fire danger levels and fire safety rules and restrictions can be implemented. It is not uncommon to have numerous Red Flag Warnings in October.

To keep parks and people safe, visitors should follow all fire safety rules and restrictions, be aware of Red Flag Warnings and fire danger levels and be alert for potential fire hazards and report them. Visitors who see a fire are asked to call 911 immediately.

Park closures are one tool in the Park District’s toolbox to keep people and parks safe. Under certain conditions, parks may not be safe for the public or park staff and may be closed to ensure public safety.

The Park District does not take the decision lightly and strives to keep parks open for visitors as much as possible. For more information about fire danger levels and restrictions, visit www.ebparks.org/firerestrictions

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Help bring in this year’s corn crop at Ardenwood’s Annual Harvest Festival on October 12 and 13. Attendees can enjoy old-time country fun as they search the field for ears of flint corn. Outside the field, visitors can learn what life was like on a late 19th century farm and explore seasonal activities, including cider pressing, old-time music, and historic crafts. Visitors can also ride on a narrow-gauge train for some extra family fun. The Ardenwood Harvest Festival has a corn-picking limit of one-burlap-bag-per-person.

Advance tickets are recommended and available for purchase online or by phone. Online ticket sales end on Friday, Oct. 11. For more information, visit www.ebparks.org/calendar?terms=Harvest+Festival

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Celebrate the history of Sunol Wilderness at the Sunol Heritage Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each year, the festival pays tribute to the human history of the Sunol Wilderness, which includes the Chochenyo Ohlone-speaking Taunans who lived with the land for countless generations and homesteaders who have ranched continuously since the 1860s.

The Sunol Heritage Festival celebrates fall with live music by the Polka Cowboys, crafts, Ohlone stories, and old-timey ranch activities and games like learning to lasso. There will be a special East Bay Regional Park District 90th Anniversary presentation at 11:30 a.m. For more info, visit www.ebparks.org/sunol-heritage-festival.

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Last month, the East Bay Regional Park District received two major grants from the California State Coastal Conservancy to reduce wildfire risk in the Park District and for public access at Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline. The two grants totaled $2.77 million, with $2.1 million for the Park District’s Wildfire Resilience Project, which includes fire fuels reduction efforts in multiple parks, and $700,000 for the Keller Beach Access Improvements Project at Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline.

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New trail open at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. Great views abound on the new Valle Vista Trail, a one-mile long, two-direction, multi-use trail that starts up on the North Ridge Trail, meandering along grassy slopes and oak woodlands as it descends to meet the bottom of the Turtle Pond Trail and the rest of the valley beyond. Special thanks to the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship organization for their partnership on this project. The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship organization is a nonprofit that builds and maintains trails for everyone and aims to connect communities to nature through responsible outdoor recreation.