Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve and Huckleberry Path is a 7 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Orinda, California that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and nature trips.
January 1, 2021Bring lots of water and snacks! The dogs enjoyed the hike. We started around 10am and the parking lot was full but had parking along the road. Went counter clockwise, the entrance is to the right of the parking lot rather than the path that you see from the parking lot. The path was through the forest of Sibley. Reached the top of Sibley and continued towards Huckleberry loop and went clockwise but got to a section that was NOT dog friendly and turned back the way we came from rather than finishing the loop. We went back towards the second half loop of Sibley (counter clockwise) which was a paved road and more crowded with people and dogs. Couldn't find the path that would've connected back to the beginning of the hike so instead, we continued down the paved Quarry road which lead back to the parking lot.
December 27, 2020This trail is a wonderful mix of tree cover, inclines, and sprawling vistas. The park is dog friendly, so you'll encounter many adorable doggies. It gets crowded quickly, so plan to get there early to find a parking spot by the trail head.
December 9, 2020Fun
December 2, 2020October 31, 2020Really pretty loop and nice to start at a spot where there aren’t as many people.
October 24, 2020August 11, 2020Map bad
July 26, 2020I ran these trails awhile back, and had completely forgotten that there are SO MANY BUGS. Also it’s very technical in most areas. A lot of steep segments, as well. And where it’s not technical or steep, the trails are very narrow, with either bushes along either side, or a steep downhill on one edge. Did I mention the bugs? It’s fairly heavily trafficked, too. Definitely was glad to have a neck gaiter because there isn’t a lot of room to give people 6 feet of space while passing. And no thanks to all of the bugs, I ended up wearing the neck gaiter most of the time, which meant I was sucking hard for air on all of the steep segments. Honestly, if not for the fact that it was about 10-15 degrees cooler than most trails around me, I would have chosen to go elsewhere. A few great views along the Huckleberry trail, but hard to enjoy while running due to needing to watch the trail like a hawk. Last but not least, bugs.
July 12, 2020Great trail, but I do not recommend doing this specific route right now at this time of year. The middle section that connects the first big loop to the Upper Huckleberry Loop is super steep and, because it's very dry at the moment, also loose and slippery. I'd rate this closer to a hard than moderate given that you're mostly climbing or descending the entire time. The most enjoyable part was Upper Huckleberry which is like a nature trail.
June 27, 2020Def more hard then moderate
January 26, 2020January 25, 2020Amazing but muddy
January 23, 2020January 2, 2020November 22, 2019Hiked 11/22/19. Cool and very dry. Every type of surface on this route - paved road, gravel road, dirt road, cow pasture. But most is shady single or double path through the woods with rocks and roots. Some steep parts. Watch where you’re going - not good signage.
November 3, 2019The hike was short and sweet. We started the hike at 9 AM, at the Old Tunnel Road Staging Area, and ended at noon. This hike had two loops. The first loop started at the Bay Area Ridge Trail, turned left on the Round Top Loop Trail, Volcanic Trail and back to the Bay Area Ridge Trail. The second loop continued from the Bay Area Ridge Trail onto the Skyline Blvd, followed the scenic Huckleberry Path to the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and then to the Old Tunnel Road Staging Area. My AllTrails recorded the total distance was 7.5 miles with elevation gain was 1600 ft; my average pace was 19:54 per mile. The steepest climb (47%) was on the Huckleberry Path (mile 5 to 6). Overall the hike was moderated.
September 9, 2019I recommend the first half of this trail. The last 1mile is super steep, be careful.
August 18, 2019Well, I’m giving this trail an overall good rating because it was a beautiful and well-shaded trail. But I would rate the All Trails app as a 1-star for this run. I got so turned around lost the trail many, many times. From the get-go, the app kept showing me as being off-course, but there was no trail where it said I should be. So I had to stop a bunch of times just to figure out where I was. I ended up running the two loops completely out of sequence and overlapping parts I wouldn’t have normally had to. Anyway, if you take out all of the times I had to stop and check where I was, it was good while I was running. Oh, and I saw a rather large snake, which appeared to have a rattle on the end of the tail (but I didn’t want to get too close to figure out for sure). Last but not least, the All Trails app said I ran 8.1 miles, while MapMyFitness said I ran 7.27. That’s a pretty significant difference.
May 10, 2019There is a part of this route you have to pass through a barbed wire defense to access. Also, the directions to the Trail head we're not accurate when I imported them into Google maps, so I ended up walking an extra .7 miles on fire trails, which was totally fine by me :-)
May 6, 2019This is a beautiful and well maintained trial but should be rated as “Moderate” rather than Easy.
April 7, 2019Go up the quarry road trail to see the gorgeous green hills and wildflowers!
January 1, 2019
First to ReviewReally enjoyed this spot. We did an hour hike up the quarry trailhead side. The beginning is a solid incline on a paved road but gets a little tougher near the top. Head up to the top of the spine for an amazing 360 view, you can pick and choose a few routes. We went on some of the old cattle paths that are a challenging vertical, but you can go around to the right and have an easier way up. Nice place to smoke a joint. Headed down and decided to check out the Pond Trail, an easy side trail that dead ends at a pond filled with reeds and LOTS of birds. There was a symphony of bird calls, I heard or saw at least 7 different species all in or around the pond. There’s a little picnic bench down there also, perfect place for lunch. You can definitely make a day of this park/trails, well traveled but still spacious and great dogwatching too.
January 17, 2021
