Castleridge Trail and Alviso Adobe — Pleasanton

Castleridge Trail hiking meets history in a "double-dip" family outing.

With a trailhead and a historic sight within a half-mile of each other, this adventure is sure to be a fun day! 

The trail is a bit strenuous and not totally toddler-friendly. While it's manageable, the slower pace makes uphill momentum pretty slow and downhill momentum unfortunately fast. There were lots of birds to hear and lizards to see scrambling across the path. The trees were massive and much welcomed as most of the trail we made it through was full sun. We only walked twenty minutes out before turning around so I’m sure there's much more to see if you keep going. The brochure mentions canyons, streams, and old fruit orchards.

We saw a few other hikers as well as some mountain bikers. Just down the road (you can walk to it from the trailhead) is the Alviso Adobe, a California historic site. There we found giant cactus, fruit trees, the historic adobe, an in-progress butterfly garden, and a brief history of the farming done in the area way back when. The kids enjoyed running on the paths and stomping across the bridge.