East Bay Regional Park District and Danville Horsemen Dedicate Equestrian Staging Corral and Solar Kiosk at Las Trampas Wilderness

Park rangers with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and volunteer horsemen from the Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of California dedicated an expanded equestrian trailer staging plaza, galvanized steel holding corrals, and a solar satellite emergency communications kiosk on Sunday afternoon at the Bollinger Canyon Staging Area of Las Trampas Regional Wilderness at 18012 Bollinger Canyon Road just west of the Danville-San Ramon corridor. Encompassing 5,775 rugged acres of wind-sculpted sandstone ridges, black-oak woodlands, and chaparral canyons rising to 2,024-foot Las Trampas Peak, the wilderness preserve offers more than forty miles of multi-use equestrian and hiking trails.

Because narrow turnaround lanes at the end of Bollinger Canyon Road previously made parking multi-horse gooseneck trailers difficult on busy weekend mornings, civil engineers regraded a 42,000-square-foot permeable geocell gravel loop with fourteen pull-through rig bays. Along the shaded creekside meadow, crews welded six four-rail galvanized steel pipe day-use paddocks, two three-step ADA-accessible mounting blocks, and a frost-free stainless-steel livestock watering trough fed by the park's spring line.

At the trailhead gate leading toward Rocky Ridge and Devil's Hole, technicians installed a timber-roofed information pavilion powered by a 600-watt solar roof and lithium battery bank. Because deep canyon topography blocks cellular reception across much of Bollinger Canyon, the kiosk houses a push-button satellite SOS emergency call box linked directly to EBRPD Police and Fire dispatch alongside digital trail condition displays.

The $345,000 staging area improvement was funded by EBRPD Measure WW park bond allocations and a California State Parks Off-Highway and Trail Recreation grant. Visitors can download trail maps on the EBRPD Las Trampas Wilderness Official Portal.