OUT IN THE WORLD WITHOUT YOUR CAR: Hiking in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

ECS&R members share their car-lite adventures

By Janet Byron

When my husband, Steve Price, and I decided to try out the car-free lifestyle (after his Nissan Leaf was totaled), I said that it would only work if we never didn’t do something because we didn’t own a car. I know, that’s a lot of double negatives, but what it meant for us is that we would always figure out a way to do what we wanted or needed to and never fall back on “We can’t because we don’t own a car.” For me, getting out of town for weekend hikes is especially important. 

Steve and I decided to call up Doherty’s Truck and Auto Rental on San Pablo Avenue across from City Hall to see what they had available. We were in luck! They had a car for us, available for a good price. We had also checked the GIG app on our phones and a few cars were available nearby, but renting one for that day would have cost more. We were happy to reserve a car with Doherty’s.

Steve and Janet on the trail


Steve and I left our condo on San Pablo Avenue and walked a few blocks to H & J’s Restaurant, our favorite brunch place in El Cerrito. Then we walked a short distance to Doherty’s and picked up our car. It took us about 20 minutes to fill out all the paperwork, inspect the car, and drive away, but we weren’t in any particular hurry. (With GIG Car Share you simply open the car with your phone and drive away—they don’t call it Get In and Go for nothing!)  

Ladybug cluster 


We drove up to Skyline Gate in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park and set out down the Stream Trail. There was a mess of magical ladybugs along the way, although a Facebook friend told me later that they were probably nonnative.


Then we hiked up the Starflower Trail to the Madrone Trail, stopping to eat our snacks along the way, and looped around on the Ridge Trail past Chabot Observatory. Steve is way into astronomy, so we decided to stop in; he will go back another day. 


We emerged from Redwood Park having clocked about 4.5 miles and over 12,000 steps on our Apple watches. After burritos in Montclair, we drove back to Doherty’s and then walked home. It was a wonderful day, and we pledged to get out on the trail more often as the weather improves. 


DO YOU HAVE an adventure you'd like to share with El Cerrito Strollers & Rollers? It needs to start and end in El Cerrito and can be daylong or multiple days, but must also demonstrate a commitment to minimizing your personal carbon footprint. It can include a rental car, but not one you own — leave yours at home. Please tell us about an adventure that you can document with photos at elcerritostrollroll@gmail.com.

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