Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve

A century and a half ago, coal fed the furnace of the Industrial Revolution. So crucial was coal to the cause that it was dubbed “black diamond.” When in 1973 the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) acquired the property in Antioch now known as Black Diamond Mines, park officials knew what they were getting: the heart of Contra Costa’s historic coal and sand mine workings. In the words of EBRPD General Manager Bob Doyle, “We discovered a park with a lot of holes in it.”

Miniature lupine crowds the shoulder of Upper Oil Canyon Trail.
Butterfly mariposa lilies adorn the intimate confines of Lower Oil Canyon.

Coulter pines in the fog, Ridge Trail.

Foxtrot, Corcoran Mine Trail.

Woodland star gathers the spring light along the Upper Oil Canyon Trail.
By the time human hands began digging into it, as Mine Manager John McKana put it, “The whole area was like a big layer cake tilted at 30 degrees and shuffled up 29 feet at the Hazel-Atlas Fault." The result is a realm of wonder, where you can run y…

Fog droplet on Coulter pine needle, Ridge Trail.

Hikers plot their next move by the mouth of a stope opening near the Hazel-Atlas Mine.

Turkey tail fungus on blue oak, Ridge Trail.

Mt. Diablo manzanita, Ridge Trail.