In Photos: Hiking Galvin Ranch With Save Mount Diablo

A group of approximately 20 hikers joined Save Mount Diablo Saturday morning for the organization's last guided hike of Joseph Galvin Ranch - a property on Morgan Territory Road recently sold to the East Bay Regional Park District. 

The land, originally bought from the Galvin family in 2003, and stewarded by SMD, is expected to soon become the newest 62 acres of Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. 

"It shows that our conservation strategy works," said Scott Hein, a board member with SMD. "... the land will eventually be opened to the public and now we get to take that money and go buy something else to protect. That's the natural progression of our conservation strategy."

Brad Heckman, a committee member and steward with SMD who led Saturday's hike, added that the transfer will create and enhance wildlife corridors, since it is connected to already protected territory.

Local hikers met in the parking lot of Clayton's Public Library at 10 a.m. Then they took off in carpools on a short 8-mile journey through Clayton and along Morgan Territory Road.

Heckman and Hein guided the group up a 600-foot climb to the top of the property and back.

Breathtaking views of Mount Diablo were hard to ignore in between pit stops at some key features of the property - Chaparral Road, the summit rocks and the blue oak woodlands. The adventure lasted just over two hours. 

You can read more about the sale and transfer of this property in this Concord Patch article.

If you want to join Save Mount Diablo on a hike, much like the one pictured and described above, make sure to check out the organization's guided hikes calendar.

Pop-up question: What's your favorite hike or trail in the Concord and Clayton area and why? Tell us in the comments.