Route: Las Trampas Ridge (CA)

The route is intended to traverse most of the Las Trampas Ridge, which is one of the major ridges in the East Bay of northern California. One the east side of the ridge there is Diablo Valley, which is quite suburban and developed, and the west side is Las Trampas Ridge Regional Wilderness (https://www.ebparks.org/parks/las_trampas/), which is a large and scenic wilderness park. There are views to the east of Mount Diablo and to the west of the Oakland Hills. The views show the varied Northern California topography and development patterns well.

The route can be done one way in either direction (9.6 miles), or round trip (19.2 miles). From south to north, you start at the Ellworthy Ranch trailhead in San Ramon and immediately climb almost 1,000 feet to the ridge itself. The route undulates across the ridge, and then about 7 miles in there's a dogleg to the east when you approach Las Trampas Peak. After the dogleg the trail begins descending from approximately 1,500 feet elevation to about 600-700 feet elevation. The route then continues north and skirts the Rossmoor development, ending at its northern terminus at Rohrer Drive in Lafayette. You then retrace your steps back south, climbing back to Las Trampas Peak and the ridge. It ends back at Ellworthy Ranch with a steep descent.