Briones Reservoir (East Bay Municipal Utility District)
 PERMITS       MAP

Oursan Trail C - ?; ****; 2+ miles; Rainy Weather No

Bear Creek Trail B - D; ****; 1+ miles; Rainy Weather No

Right at the trailhead Bear Creek Trail gets tough, dropping on a single track down to the creek, which it fords on a concrete spillway. In June the water was about 3 inches deep, but anything more would have stopped me. The steepness of this section would stop many other people in wheelchairs, and that's too bad, because once it climbs out of the creek bed, the trail joins a fire road and becomes wide, almost level and very pleasant for at least half a mile. A locked gate connects this fire road to Bear Valley Road, and it might be worth asking rangers at Briones Regional Park a few hundred yards away if they can open it for you.