Bull Valley, Port Costa & Carquinez Overlook - Aug. '24

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On a late August Monday, seven of us went for a walk in the hills above the Carquinez Straits. The 1,600 acre property we crossed is part of the extensive East Bay Regional Park system.

The trail passed through the tiny town of Port Costa, with an impressive history....more on that below. 

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again (not on smartphones). 

	trailhead view of Carquinez Straits bridges		looking north to Benicia salt marsh		Bull Valley walk,
		see note 1		heading inland		eucalyptus woods
	Mt. Diablo				see note 2
		Port Costa		Amaryllis, or pink ladies, note 3		1940 Ford

note 1 - on the left is the old C&H Sugar factory, and, nearby Eckley Pier is at the lower right.

note 2- left to right are Frank, me, Marcia, Barb Gr, Jean, Rick, and Barb Go took the photo.

note 3 - Amaryllis seems to have a special affinity for northern Ca. coastal areas.  

The  trail eventually descended to Port Costa, where we had lunch sitting on walls or steps in front of the old Catholic Church. Afterwards we walked uphill for ten minutes to the southern leg of the trail, past the old school, which closed in 1988.

Because it was getting somewhat warm, we turned back before reaching the turnaround point & scenic overlook.

	looking back at Port Costa		southern part of the walk
		back to Port Costa		old school yard
					back at the trailhead

Hiking scenery was great & the long uphill walk from Port Costa back to the trailhead was a good workout. 

The complete walk (via AllTrails) is 5 miles & 500 ft. of gain, so we walked about four miles with maybe 400 ft of gain. 

Being a Monday, the freeway drive there & back was easy & we were home early = a good day out.  

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Postscript - Port Costa was, in the mid-1880s, "the busiest port on the west coast". Its most important nautical (or marine) aspect was having a deep harbor.  

The town's heyday began in 1879, when Solano, the world's largest ferry, carried loaded rail cars across Carquinez Straits, from Benicia, off-loading at Port Costa, right onto the main line to Oakland, thus connecting tiny Port Costa to the Transcontinental Railroad, for the next 50 years. 

Huge wharves, docks & warehouses were built, to store & ship west coast grains like bulgur and wheat to European markets. Port Costa's population grew to 3,000.    

In the 1930s, when a new rail bridge between Benicia & Martinez was constructed, ferry conveyance ceased & the town's  economy tanked (history ref. - online resources).

Today 200+ people live here, a tiny town with only two streets. We saw many attractive Craftsman style houses. Our walking path crossed the town's main streets about 1/4 mile uphill from the waterfront, so we didn't see the old town.

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