Round Valley Regional Preserve

This place is fantastic. It’s super nice, lots of parking and a nice bathroom in the middle of Nowhere. There’s a wonderfully huge oak tree at the end of this park with picnic tables underneath. It’s a fantastic place for great scenery and nice walks.

Very nice hiking area!
I started off in the parking lot off Marsh Creek Rd. and took a right. A little ways after the bridge you can keep going straight or take a left to go up. I wanted to see a view so I went up! I guess it was the hardy trail? Pretty steep incline, but after you get to the top, going down is easy! Took about 1.5 hours for a full circle.
The view at the top was so nice! You can see so far away, I want to try to get up higher on the view point, although it does say do not trespass but it seemed like there was a passage way up to the top!
Would hike this again.

Round Valley Regional Preserve takes you through Brentwood’s golden hills. I came here last summer for the very first time, and it was such a rewarding hike. There’s plenty of parking towards the entrance, and its called «round» valley because you are literally taken on a 5 mile loop through the hills! It’s a great work out, so try it out if you want to get your heart pumping and your legs working!
When my friends and I started the trail we went right first. It takes you on an incline of hills and once you’ve reached the highest peak it is mostly downhill from there. You are submerged into a a miniature forest, no less. With trees and areas that look like there should be flowing streams of water (darn you CA drought!)
Still beautiful in the summertime, but I’d love to come here when the hills are lush and green!

I love to go here! Super beautiful! I just don’t understand why dogs aren’t allowed. I see people bring there dogs in anyways but it’s BS that its a rule to begin with.

What can I say about this beautiful place! It’s peacefulness, tranquility cannot be replaced! I am so lucky it is right here in the out skirts if Brentwood, CA!
It has miles of prestige hiking/​biking, walking/​running trails for all! You can going horse back riding too! They even have a camp site! Don’t pass up an opportunity to check this place out! Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall!

Went hiking here for the first time and it’s a long and winding drive into this area regardless of which way you are coming from. There’s usually plenty of parking and there were quite a few people hiking even during the week. A good place to check out if you want to get away from the urban/​city life.
If you’re looking for a huge challenge when it comes to hiking, there’s the Hardy Canyon Trail (which I wasn’t about to do). Probably best to take the Miwok Trail, which is generally flatter and not nearly as steep as the aforementioned Hardy Canyon Trail. Once you go about 1−½ miles from the starting point and staging area, you’ll be greeting with huge meadows and large valleys (hence the name of this regional preserve). Lots of open space and oh yeah, do expect to run into herds of cows from time to time. Overall, some really scenic and beautiful sights that await you!

This was my first time hiking here it was long but a great challenge. We went backwards, I’ll be paying for it but it was well worth it. Plus my body will thank me for it later! I came in contact with some type of plant and I had a reaction. My arm broke out with welts or hives I’m not sure. Can anyone tell me the name of this plant???

Wen’t hiking here the other day with a few buddies, we kinda chose this place last minute because it was close…
I’ve lived in brentwood for almost 10 years now and never knew this placed existed lol
I’ve usually go to black diamond or Mt. Diablo to hike.
The reviews for this place were pretty good so we decided to check it out.
We wanted to give ourselves a little bit of a challenge so we took the harder route (reverse)…needless to say, about 15 – 20 minutes in, we regretted our decision lol But we grinded on and kept going, realizing how out of shape we all were… but as a group of 4 men, we couldnt turn back.
Somewhere along the way, we got bored with the trail and just wanted to head to the highest point, so we just started climbing lol… many breaks were needed but we got to the highest point in about 2 hours, after getting to other points which we thought were peaks.
We also ran into a herd of cows… atleast 10 – 15 of em, scared the hell outta me lol
but they posed no threat, we just walked past them… fairly slowly and they kinda did thier own thing… eat.poop.etc lol
All in all, it was a really nice hike, everything was so green, and the view was pretty good!
Next time maybe we’ll take the easier route, and actually stay on the trail haha: p

The 3 stars is for how beautiful this place is. Awesome hiking and views. They lost a star with the fact that dogs are NOT allowed. Really ??? Super lame!!! They also lost a star due to the super super nasty filthy stinky bathrooms.

excellent neighborhood hiking trail — plenty of trees for those women who hates the sun! well not everythings shaded but come visit this place anyway! Think i’ve done all the trails here, official trails, cow trails, side trails, clockwise, counter clockwise trails etc … it’s beautiful!
FYI — east bay has a rattlesnake problems due probably to the drought, I haven’t seen one around the round valley (maybe after 70 hikes since 2014)
Spring time is probably the best time to hike here for the blossoms of IDK what types of plants/​flowers they are? some butterflies could be seen, though not as abundant as the one in Danville Las Trampas (
)

This is a really peaceful, beautiful 5 mile hike. There is a bit of uphill early on, but the last half is pretty easy. Walk past a small bridge and that begins your hike up (go straight, not left). After about a mile, you will have a choice to go straight (no incline) or to the left. Go left if you want a decent workout uphill for a mile or two. Once you get to the top of the hill, it’s mostly downhill or flat from there. Saw some turkeys and lots of squirrels in the fields. About half of the hike is without shade early in the morning, so don’f forget your sunscreen!
parking — use the lot just off Marsh Creek Rd.

Joined my girlfriend, who lives in Brentwood, for an Easter Sunday hike and we just loved it here! She never even knew about this park but thanks to Unilocal I found it and we were off.
There is ample parking and a bathroom there and just a short drive from the heart of Brentwood.
The trail was perfect! Had ample shady parts and lots of sun at the top. Gorgeous rolling hill views and is loaded with cows! It was super neat to walk along the trail with these wonderful peaceful animals.
We will definitely return. It was about a 5 mile trek around the loop and was a perfect start to a wonderful day!

Would be great if I could bring my dog. Great hiking none the less. You can hit Los Vaqueros and trek all the way to Morgan Territory, great if you’re prepared for a steep incline. Bring snacks and plenty or water.

Beautiful place. Lots of trails including water holes.streams. Very well maintained. There was a few large «pies» on the trails. I think its rude if riders to leave that.. especially when there are little kids walking. Other than that… it was peaceful.

I hiked here for the first time today! It was beautiful! Click on this link to see pictures of this area and get info on this hike:

My new favorite spot to hike! Iv lived in Oakley my whole life and Iv just recently heard about Round Valley. I used to go to Contra Loma or Black Diamond Mines but not anymore!
I take the bypass all the way to Marsh Creek, make that right and ahead a mile or 2 and your there. The drive there is beautiful and a nice preview of how beautiful and peaceful Round Valley is.
First of all parking is free. Bathroom portapotty style just bigger is available. Makes sure to bring water! A hiking stick would be nice too. Hiking shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. NO FLIP FLOPS OR JEANS.
If you want to start your hike off hard and end it on the easier side I would recommend you start on the right. Starting off on the right will take you through a lot of up hill steep trails! If you start of on the left, it’s a very gradual upward hike and ends with a lot of down hill trails. The distance around I believe it’s called Hardy canyon trail is a little over 4 miles. You will come a across a bunch of cows! They can be very intimidating but they have never charged or chased me even though many times I thought they would lol. They just stair at you the whole time it takes you to pass them.
Tips when ever coming across a bunch of cows. Keep you pace and as you approach them calmly sheww them away. Cows are very protective of their young, so if you see a calf go around it If you have to or make noises until they get off the trail. Something I would do that helped before having to pass a group of cows on the trail is I would just squeeze my half empty water bottle, this would let the cows know we were there and they would just MOOOOve hehe get it.
Overall this is a great place to be. Lots of cute squirrels everywhere. Butterfly’s. Amazing views. Peaceful sound of crickets and sometimes you’ll hear a crazy soundin moo from the cows lol

I love hiking here, it’s soooooooo pretty & quiet! Being out here helps me relax by making me fully concentrate on not busting my butt on the rough trail terrain! Some days there are tons of cows on the trail, other days there isn’t a single cow in sight. Once in a few while, you can hear a pack of coyotes howling & barking in the distance in the middle of the day, and watch cows running away from where the barking is coming from.
During the spring/​summer, even if you start out at 9am, it can get very hot out there, very quickly! I suggest everyone bring a Camelbak full of ice & water if it *might* be warm that day, better to be safe than sorry!
Cell service is spotty, so make sure you stay on the trail & don’t get lost!
I also suggest you start out going to the right, instead of the left, because it seems like starting out to the right & doing a counter clockwise loops is easier than going in the clockwise direction! Clockwise makes you go up a lot of raggedy, narrow trail vs being able to just run down all of it if you’re going counter clockwise. But that’s just my 2 cents!

East Bay Regional Parks has a lot of open space within their borders. However, Round Valley takes the concept of «open space» to a different level.
You would never know it at first. First, drive into the boonies, a no-man’s land between Byron and Clayton. Second, park the car in the spacious dirt parking lot and fill the water bottle in the summer. Third, walk a hilly trail for at least a mile.
And then, you gradually enter a HUGE flat valley. Several oak trees scatted about, many on the hills, but mostly it’s the big wide open. You’d need a panoramic camera to capture it all. It seems like it takes forever to walk across it; a mountain bike is better. But it’s the kind of picturesque spot where you’d want to take your time.
This isn’t for the adventurous, extreme-​sports type. It’s for the modern-​day Thoreau who wants to sit for a long time in nature, relax, meditate, and enjoy the view. Or you could do more: reserve the primitive group camp at the other end of the valley and stay for two or more days.
I haven’t done the side trails yet. Someday. ..

I really love this open space for hiking. It is a tad hot even in the late Summer months, but I hear it’s gorgeous in the Fall and later.
Once you park in the lot off Marsh Creek Rd, you’ll head up the trail which leads past a small bridge. After about a mile you’ll reach the trail post for the Hardy Canyon Trail which heads up. If not, stay on the current trail which is the Miwok trail.
Steep on some parts, it’s definitely a good workout. The terrain is sandy and dusty. Bring lots of water as it does get hot in Brentwood and in the valleys. Saw lots of ground squirrels, turkeys, rabbits, and birds.
Once you head up the Hardy Canyon Trail, it gets narrower but the views of the hills are beautiful. Who would have thought this all rested beyond Marsh Creek Rd.
Can’t wait to come back in the Fall or Spring when it’s more green and a bit cooler. No dogs allowed as well.

Came her on a super overcast day to have family photos done. I can’t really rate it for it’s hiking trails but I can say it’s a really cool location with many different cool spots for photo ops.
We loved our pictures here. Would love to come on a sunny day and head over to the rock wall area our photog was talking about.