Vargas Plateau Regional Park, located high in the hills between Fremont and Sunol, was a former cattle ranch. The park opened recently as the newest addition to the East Bay Regional Park District. It is a relatively small park, with approximately 6 miles of trails on 1,249 ridge-top acres.
The new park did not come easily into existence. The East Bay Regional Park District acquired most of the land in the mid-1990s for 6.6 million dollars from the two families ranching it, the Vargas and the Tavares families. But after the acquisition, a long-drawn-out legal battle with neighbors over the amount of vehicular traffic and public parking delayed the opening.
A settlement was eventually reached with nearby property owners, which involved limiting visitor parking to a small lot outside the park’s entrance.
Click on an image to see the full-size photo
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| A view looking west, across San Francisco Bay. The Santa Cruz Mountains are in the background. The massive dirigible airship hangers are somewhat visible at Moffett Federal Airfield. The cities of Mountain View, Cupertino, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park, are across San Francisco Bay and they are within the area of this photograph. |
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| Sunol Peak, elevation 2,178 feet (664 meters). This view is looking east. |
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| This view is looking southwest. |
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It was a cool, windy, and cloudy day.
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| Mission Peak, elevation 2,497 feet (761 meters). |
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| This view is looking west, across San Francisco Bay. The Dumbarton Bridge is visible, as are the cities across the bay of San Carlos, San Mateo, and Redwood City. The body of water at the foot of this hill is known as the Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area. In addition, Alameda Creek flows through the recreational area. Coyote Hills Regional Park is identifiable in this photograph. |
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| The distance traveled was approximately 3.9 miles (6.3 kilometers). The cumulative elevation gain was about 583 feet (178 meters). This GPS-generated track of the route includes mile markers. |
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"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange
"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson
The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs that were posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.
An Olympus camera was used to take these photographs.
Question or comment? I may be reached at neil@mishalov.com
