Las Trampas Regional Wilderness

One of the things I was worried I’d miss most about Scotland were the beautiful landscapes. While Scotland does have a very unique and mystical kind of beauty, we are surrounded by plenty of scenic eye candy here in the East Bay area. San Ramon is nestled in a valley and everywhere you turn you can see hills, mountains, and canyons. 

There is plenty of wildlife and livestock around as well and I frequently see hares, quail, turkeys, cows and horses when I hit the neighborhood trails. 

It’s definitely helping to ease that pang of homesickness I feel when I see my Aberdeen friends posting pictures of their outings. It doesn’t hurt that the weather here is mostly picture perfect for a field trip outdoors. 

One place we stumbled upon shortly after arriving is the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Park, just beyond the San Ramon city limits. It’s full of family friendly hiking trails, riding stables, and picnic tables. 

One hike in particular, the Rocky Ridge Loop, is quite the challenging trek. 

It’s a steep vertical incline for about 1.5 miles but offers stunning views of San Ramon Valley and nearby Mt. Diablo. 

We’ve climbed the hill twice with baby boy in tow and each time we have been nursing our sore muscles the next day. When I look at brochures and maps of the park there are countless trails snaking through it. 

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We’ve mostly stuck to the Rocky Ridge trail for the time being because it’s been quite rainy and the majority of this one is paved. Forest is a champ on these hiking excursions and usually just watches the world go by or even catches a cat nap on the go. 

This past weekend we passed  two other couples with babies and it’s always nice to see other families being active with little ones. It can be challenging sometimes but we are always thankful whenever he is cooperative with being incorporated into our lifestyle. He’s not a huge fan of the jogging stroller but hopefully that will change with time. Due to our success with the ergo on the Las Trampas trails, we are hoping to venture out to Mt Diablo for some hiking soon. 

 I’ll keep you posted!