Howe Homestead Park

Take a break from the daily routine urban existence in the Howe Homestead Park lounging around the grass and basking in the sun. Whether it’s outdoor yoga, hiking, walking, or sunbathing, the park is the perfect place to do all of these and more. This park, the former home of an early 20th-century Associated Press correspondent, James Howe, and his wife, Mia Howe, who purchased the property in 1910, is only a short walk from downtown. Community Gardens are a dominant feature of the park-Walnut Creek residents can rent out a total of 48 ornamental plant and vegetable gardening plots.

There’s a waiting list for the gardens for five years, however, very naturally. This 6.5 acre of hidden treasure is often called “Gopher Gulch” due to the numerous gopher holes in the property. In addition to the park and community gardens, a collection of archaic farming tools including a walnut huller, a few restored classic cars, and beekeepers boxers are also displayed. The Kovar Trail runs from the park to the top of Mount Diablo, crossing the open space of the Shell Ridge, if you feel adventurous.

The reserved picnic areas and barbecue pit will give you plenty of reasons to start your next hike to Mount Diablo in the Bay Area, ten minutes away. Crossing the stone bridge from the parking lot of Howe Homestead will give you an insight into the area as it developed in the 1930s. The site is stunning, well maintained, along its path has a water fountain and is a good starting point for a brisk hike. Offering a host of special events and tours, the park is open from sunrise to sunset. A short break from city life, lots of parking spaces, lots of benches and a great way to walk into Ridge shell, this is also ideal for a family day out.