Point Pinole Pier Walk
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Atlas Road, Richmond, CA
Starting Point: We started our visit to Point Pinole from the Atlas Road Staging Area on Atlas Road, near the Pinole Point Business Park. See the Point Pinole brochure link below for other options for entering the park.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline brochure link (East Bay Parks):
https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/Point-Pinole-map_0.pdf
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline info link (East Bay Regional Park District):
https://www.ebparks.org/parks/point-pinole
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline map link (East Bay Parks):
https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/PointPinole-Map.png
Point Pinole Pier info link (Pier Fishing):
https://www.pierfishing.com/point-pinole-pier/
Distance:
For a straightforward out-and-back walk from the Atlas Staging Area to Point Pinole Pier, it’s about 1 mile one-way from the Atlas Road Staging Area to the fishing pier, making for a 2-mile round trip walk. For this walk, take Cook’s Point Trail to the Giant Station Trail, and then connect to the paved Pinole Point Trail for a smoothly paved walk out to the pier. Other trails will be covered in a separate post.
Considerations:
• There is a modest parking fee charged for Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, subject to change. See information links above for current fees, or check at kiosk entrances.
• Pick up a brochure/trail map at the parking area if you’re not familiar with the trails.
• There are toilet facilities at several places in the park.
• Dressing in layers, using sun protection, and having water are advised for any hike.
• Pay attention to health, safety and wildlife notices.
• Hikers, bikers, and horses are allowed on certain trails. Follow notices.
• This is a popular park for dog owners. The leash rules seem a bit unclear, and the sudden appearance of dogs off leash can be surprising for those who are anxious about dogs.
• Visitors can walk into the park over the footbridge from Atlas Road if the park parking lot is full.
The trail:
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline covers over 2,400 acres in the East Bay. This park has many trail options to choose from. Walkers can choose more of a forest walk, with lots of eucalyptus groves, or can aim straight for the shoreline to see the bay from the bluffs above, or cut down to a trail closer to the water.
This post describes the simplest choice of walking from the Atlas Road Staging Area parking and bathrooms out to the Point Pinole fishing pier. This is a popular choice for those who like a smooth, paved path.
The parking and bathroom area includes picnic tables and grills, and various information signs, which are also dotted around other parts of the park. From the parking area, hikers can walk approximately 0.2 miles along Cook’s Point trail to where it connects with Giant Station Trail. It’s another approximately 0.2 miles along Giant Station to Pinole Point Trail. This is a mostly straight path which is paved for a smooth walk leading out to the fishing pier.
This park is peppered with trail signs for side trails, which is very inviting for those who like to explore less-walked paths. Some of those will be covered in another post. For those doing this out-and-back walk, though, after an open space area starting out from the parking area, the Pinole Point Trail is lined with eucalyptus trees and offers more picnic table areas along the way to the pier.
The pier extends out over the bay, and is actively used for fishing. Visitors can see the wooden posts of ruins of an older pier. There are several more information signs in the pier area as well. There are toilets near the pier.
Whether a sunny day or overcast and chilly as on our New Year’s Day visit, there is always something magical about the light that glows above San Pablo Bay. Our one caveat for visiting this park is that dog leash rules are fairly loose and not always followed, so for visitors who have any anxiety about dogs, you may be surprised by groups of dogs running free, especially on lesser-traveled side trails.
(Point Pinole Pier Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “A Special Glow” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Atlas Road, Richmond, CA
Starting Point: We started our visit to Point Pinole from the Atlas Road Staging Area on Atlas Road, near the Pinole Point Business Park. See the Point Pinole brochure link below for other options for entering the park.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline brochure link (East Bay Parks):
https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/Point-Pinole-map_0.pdf
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline info link (East Bay Regional Park District):
https://www.ebparks.org/parks/point-pinole
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline map link (East Bay Parks):
https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/PointPinole-Map.png
Point Pinole Pier info link (Pier Fishing):
https://www.pierfishing.com/point-pinole-pier/
Distance:
For a straightforward out-and-back walk from the Atlas Staging Area to Point Pinole Pier, it’s about 1 mile one-way from the Atlas Road Staging Area to the fishing pier, making for a 2-mile round trip walk. For this walk, take Cook’s Point Trail to the Giant Station Trail, and then connect to the paved Pinole Point Trail for a smoothly paved walk out to the pier. Other trails will be covered in a separate post.
Considerations:
• There is a modest parking fee charged for Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, subject to change. See information links above for current fees, or check at kiosk entrances.
• Pick up a brochure/trail map at the parking area if you’re not familiar with the trails.
• There are toilet facilities at several places in the park.
• Dressing in layers, using sun protection, and having water are advised for any hike.
• Pay attention to health, safety and wildlife notices.
• Hikers, bikers, and horses are allowed on certain trails. Follow notices.
• This is a popular park for dog owners. The leash rules seem a bit unclear, and the sudden appearance of dogs off leash can be surprising for those who are anxious about dogs.
• Visitors can walk into the park over the footbridge from Atlas Road if the park parking lot is full.
The trail:
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline covers over 2,400 acres in the East Bay. This park has many trail options to choose from. Walkers can choose more of a forest walk, with lots of eucalyptus groves, or can aim straight for the shoreline to see the bay from the bluffs above, or cut down to a trail closer to the water.
This post describes the simplest choice of walking from the Atlas Road Staging Area parking and bathrooms out to the Point Pinole fishing pier. This is a popular choice for those who like a smooth, paved path.
The parking and bathroom area includes picnic tables and grills, and various information signs, which are also dotted around other parts of the park. From the parking area, hikers can walk approximately 0.2 miles along Cook’s Point trail to where it connects with Giant Station Trail. It’s another approximately 0.2 miles along Giant Station to Pinole Point Trail. This is a mostly straight path which is paved for a smooth walk leading out to the fishing pier.
This park is peppered with trail signs for side trails, which is very inviting for those who like to explore less-walked paths. Some of those will be covered in another post. For those doing this out-and-back walk, though, after an open space area starting out from the parking area, the Pinole Point Trail is lined with eucalyptus trees and offers more picnic table areas along the way to the pier.
The pier extends out over the bay, and is actively used for fishing. Visitors can see the wooden posts of ruins of an older pier. There are several more information signs in the pier area as well. There are toilets near the pier.
Whether a sunny day or overcast and chilly as on our New Year’s Day visit, there is always something magical about the light that glows above San Pablo Bay. Our one caveat for visiting this park is that dog leash rules are fairly loose and not always followed, so for visitors who have any anxiety about dogs, you may be surprised by groups of dogs running free, especially on lesser-traveled side trails.
(Point Pinole Pier Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “A Special Glow” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop page! Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777