Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Winery Loop Trail

The Winery Loop Trail is a 2.7-mile-long hiking and biking loop around the grasslands south of Arroyo del Valle in Sycamore Grove Park, five miles south of downtown Livermore in California. Trail highlights are the ruins of the historic Olivina Winery and the sycamore with a hole—the Hobbit Tree.

About a quarter mile south of the parks's Wetmore Road entrance, the trail follows a vineyard fence for another quarter mile to its junction with the 0.3-mile-long Olivina Trail. While you continue on the Winery Loop, you will soon arrive at an intersection, from where the 1.5-mile-long Wagon Road Trail ascends the hillscape and the 0.2-mile-long Walnut Trail offers a shortcut back to the streambed and Wetmore entrance. Past the intersection, the loop trail skirts the fenced ruins of the Olivina distillery and winery.

Ruins of the historic Olivina Winery
As you come to the junction with Kingfisher Crossing, you get another chance to shortcut the loop. If you do the complete loop, you will now travel between orchards: an olive orchard to your right (not part of the park) and a neglected almond orchard at the turning point of the loop. Here, the Winery Loop Trail meets the 2.5-mile-long Arroyo del Valle Regional Trail, which connects the Wetmore Road entrance with the Arroyo Road entrance

Old almond orchard with Wine Loop Trail

No comments: