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Downtown Route: Civic Park to Sweet Affair Bakery- 3.2 miles roundtrip
Cross the charming wooden footbridge in Civic Park and leave the downtown bustle behind. Take in the creek below and pick up the Iron Horse Trail once you cross the bridge. As the trail leaves Civic Park, climb the stairs up to the pedestrian overpass that spans Ygnacio Valley Road. Look down at the streaming traffic below. Back on the paved trail, pass Walnut Creek Middle School and turn right where the Iron Horse Trail intersects with the meandering Contra Costa Canal Trail.
Follow it along until you reach Heather Farm Park and exit the park onto Ygnacio Valley Road. Cross at the signal for San Carlos and enter the Ygnacio Plaza Shopping Center. A Sweet Affair Bakery is tucked on the right side of the plaza. For the past 25 years the family-owned bakery has |
served delicious fresh-baked breads, cookies, pies and cakes. Don’t miss their incredible sandwiches made to order on fresh-baked bread. From here, you can either walk back along Ygnacio Valley Road or duck back into the park to pick up the trail for the return trip. Be sure to stop and visit The Gardens at Heather Farm to admire what’s in bloom and see how to optimize a patch of earth with thoughtful landscaping. |
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South WC Route: Iron Horse Trail to Whole Foods Market- 2.2 miles roundtrip
Park at the CalTrans Park and Ride lot on Rudgear Road near the 680 S onramp. Cross at the light to enter the Iron Horse Trail where it parallels the South Broadway Extension. As you meander along the trail notice lush vines planted along the walls, the football field of adjacent Las Lomas High School and the overhead pedestrian
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| bridges leading from the school to residential neighborhoods. Turn left onto Newell Avenue and proceed across the parking lot and into Whole Foods Market, for a coffee drink, tea, pastry or something fresh and delicious from their prepared foods section. After you’ve refueled you can loop around through Broadway Plaza and take in some window-shopping before returning on the Iron Horse Trail or you can just turn around and head straight back. |
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Rural Route: Acalanes Ridge Trail to Larkey Mini Market & Deli – 2 miles
Start at the parking lot in Larkey Park. Walk uphill through the grassy play area to pick up a paved trail. Head towards the hills and cross Second Avenue to pick up the Briones to Mt. Diablo Regional Trail. Stay on the trail as you achieve a little elevation and go through the
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gate into Acalanes Ridge Open Space. Now you’re on a dirt trail surrounded by hills that look like the opening scenes in “Sound of Music. “ Say hello to the happy California cows grazing nearby. Admire the view of the Diablo Valley clear across Martinez to the Carquinez Strait. Then turn right and take the trail uphill a little ways and then down towards the fence line. Exit the open space at a gate with a big wooden sign for Acalanes Ridge into a suburban neighborhood. You are on Camino Verde Circle. Turn right onto Quail View Circle and pick up the Mt. Diablo Briones Trail again. Then, instead of going back through Larkey Park, head north on Larkey Lane, following it as it zig zags across San Luis Road. At the corner of Larkey Lane and First Avenue, you will come to the Larkey Mini Market & Deli, a quaint slice of old-fashioned Americana. Enjoy sandwiches made to order, cold drinks and other snacks. Walk along First Avenue to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Stop in to enjoy the native flora and fauna exhibits or head back to your car. |
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