Directions by car to the major Friends of Sausal Creek restoration
areas:
From 580, take the Park Boulevard exit, and turn north, towards the
hills. Go 1 mile (through the Glenview District) and turn right on El
Centro. (1 block past the Chevron station.)
From Highway 13: take the Park Boulevard exit, and turn south,
towards the Bay. Go 1 mile, turn left on El Centro. (1 block before the
Chevron station.)
The trailhead is at the bottom of the hill (2/10ths of a mile.) There are
a few parking spaces here, or you can park in the Dimond Rec Center
parking lot. (500 feet further.) If you park at the Rec Center, you can
take the stairway down to the Tot Lot, (pause to admire our Native Plant
Garden) then follow the trail near the creek to reach the trailhead.
The restoration area extends 1400 feet upstream from El Centro. In wet
weather, it's hard to cross the creek to Sam's trail. The easily-walkable
trail ends near the Leimert Bridge. The stone chute can't be crossed after
big rains, and the next 1000' require walking in and across the creek,
dodging fallen trees, and scaling check dams.
The trail resumes on top of a culverted section of creek. At the upstream
end of the culvert, you can reach the Park Boulevard Trail, to the left,
or the Dunn Switchbacks that lead up to the Bridgeview Trail.
Other trailheads in Dimond Canyon:
- Bridgeview Trailhead. From Park Boulevard, take Leimert Boulevard,
southeastward, across the bridge.
- At the first stop sign, bear left, staying on Leimert. Go one block,
turn left onto Bridgeview. It dead-ends at the trailhead. You can walk to
the Monterey trailhead from here, or down the Dunn Switchbacks to the
creek.
- Monterey Trailhead: From Park Boulevard, just below Highway 13, turn
southeastward onto Monterey (it's a frontage road, here.) Stay to the
right. After 1500', just past the Montclair Golf Course, look for a trash
can and trailhead sign. The trail here leads down into the redwoods -- the
small stone bridge may not be passable immediately after big rain. Our
Redwood Understory restoration site is a narrow band along the switchbacks
that lead up to the Bridgeview Trail (1,000 feet beyond this trailhead
is a pedestrian tunnel that leads under Highway 13, and into Joaquin
Miller Park.)
Joaquin Miller to Dimond Recreation Center:
- From Highway 13, take the Joaquin Miller/Lincoln Boulevard exit (right
by the Mormon Temple.) Head towards the hills, you'll be on Joaquin Miller
Road.
- Go 4/5 of mile, to the second left turn lane, and turn left at the
Woodminster theater sign. (Robinson will be on your right.)
- Park near the Ranger Station. Go past the yellow fire gate, 300 feet,
to a path on the right. After you cross the stream, turn left onto the
Sunset Trail.
- After 250 feet, take the Palos Colorados Trail, which forks to the
left. It's about 1 mile to the trailhead on Joaquin Miller Court, at
Mountain Boulevard.
- Go up Joaquin Miller Court, and through the pedestrian tunnel. Turn
right at Monterey, it's about 1000 feet to the trailhead. Note that the
small concrete bridge may be underwater after rains. Our Redwood
Understory restoration site is a narrow band along the switchbacks that
lead up to the Bridgeview Trail.
- Follow this trail about 1/2 mile to the Dunn Switchbacks (you'll see a
spot where we've been clearing ivy from a great bit of coast live oak
understory.) The switchbacks lead down to the creek again, just as it
enters a culvert. Take the trail downstream, on top of the culvert.
- Below the culvert, there are no real trails, you'll need to walk in
the creek or on its edges for about 1000 feet. This area is not passable
during heavy rains.
- The trail resumes at the Leimert Bridge. From here, it's about 2000
feet to the El Centro Trailhead.
Maps (.pdf format)
