One of the more down-home special events in the East Bay Regional Park District is the Cowboy Hootenanny, which will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 20 this year in southern Alameda County’s Sunol Regional Wilderness.
Bring your family and a picnic and help to celebrate the pioneers and cowboys who settled Sunol. Get your inner cowboy on with hands-on ranching skills, live music by The Polka Cowboys and Tom Lucas Bluegrass Band, dancing and old-fashioned games. Sunol Regional Wilderness is at the end of Geary Road off Calaveras Road about 5 miles south of Interstate 680 and the town of Sunol. There’s a parking fee of $5 per vehicle, but the Cowboy Hootenanny is free. For information, call 510-544-3249.
Fremont: Over at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, naturalist Dino Labiste continues his series of “Skills of the Past” programs with a session on shell pendant and necklace making from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27. The group will make pine nut and clam shell necklaces, create an abalone pendant and twist string from dogbane fibers, all in the style of the Ohlone who inhabited Coyote Hills for millennia.
The program is for ages 16 and older, and parent participation is required. There’s a fee of $10 per person ($12 for nondistrict residents). Registration is also required. For registration and information, call 888-327-2757. Select option 2 and refer to program number 22524.
Orinda, Martinez: Spider-man — aka naturalist Trent Pearce — plans another of his spider safaris from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Briones Regional Park. Meet Trent at the Bear Creek staging area, which is on Bear Creek Road about 5 miles north of the intersection with San Pablo Dam Road in Orinda. The group will search for autumn arachnids in woods and fields. Heavy rain would cancel the event. Trent’s program is free, but there may be a parking fee if the kiosk is attended.
If you aren’t fond of spiders, there’s a bird-watching walk at Briones too from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 22, led by naturalist Anthony Fisher. Meet Anthony at the top of Old Briones Road off Alhambra Valley Road south of Martinez. For more information and directions on either program, call 510-544-2233.
Berkeley: The Wednesday Walkers are an informal group of hikers who go on naturalist-led explorations of various regional parks. Everyone’s welcome. Wear sturdy shoes, bring water and dress for the weather. Heavy rain would cancel the event.
There’s a Wednesday Walk from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, led by naturalist “Trail Gail” Broesder. This one is for ages 8 and older. Meet Gail at Inspiration Point on Wildcat Canyon Road for a mostly flat hike with panoramic views of Mount Diablo and San Francisco Bay. Call 510-544-2233.
Antioch: Rose Hill Cemetery at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch is the final resting place for many miners and their families who lived and worked there in the 19th century. Naturalist Eddie Willis will lead a hike to the cemetery from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 21, while telling stories of these people’s often hard lives. It’s half-mile, somewhat steep uphill walk.
Meet Eddie in the park’s uppermost parking lot at the end of Somersville Road, about 3½ miles south of Highway 4. There’s a parking fee of $5 per vehicle; the cemetery program is free. For information, call 888-327-2757, ext. 2750.
Oakley: “Mammals of the Marsh” is the theme of a program from 2 to 3 p.m. Oct. 20 at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley. Stars of the show are the Delta’s furry inhabitants: river otters, beavers, minks and more. Big Break is at 69 Big Break Road off Oakley’s Main Street. For information, call 888-327-2757, ext. 3050.
Online: There’s always something interesting to see and do in the regional parks. For complete listings, check out the park district’s website at www.ebparks.org.
Ned MacKay writes a regular column about East Bay Regional Park District sites and activities. Email him at nedmackay@comcast.net.
