Old Borges Ranch (Walnut Creek)
Today’s adventure took us not too far from home: Old Borges Ranch in Walnut Creek. We left around 8am and had our car picnic ready to go.
We headed East to Old Borges Ranch . The Ranch is a set of houses, barns and other out buildings including a blacksmith shed.
On the approach, there are 2 parking lots: the first has some picnic tables and a pond (dried up when we were there) and access to hiking trails.
The original Borges house was built in 1899 by the Borges family and supported by 5 generations before being donated to the city of Walnut Creek.
The farm has several pens of goats and chickens which you can walk through and pet. You can even borrow a brush to brush a goat (make sure to walk up to them quietly and brush in the direction their fur goes (not against the grain).
The original family home is in good condition and you peak into the windows to see how the family left their house:
There a bunch of old tractors and they let you sit on most of them:
We learned there’s an annual Heritage Day event at Old Borge Ranch once every 3 years (they rotate with Sugarloaf and one other park so there’s a Heritage Event at one of them every year. We hear that it takes place every June.
Vitals
- Address: 1035 Castle Rock Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
- Date we visited: August 4, 2019.
- Driving time: 25 minutes from Oakland, CA.
- For reservations and information on school/group tours contact Supervising Ranger Nancy Dawson Dollard at 925/943–5899 x2135 or at dollard@walnut-creek.org.
- Hours; opens at 7am and closes at Sundown)
- Spendy or Thrifty? Thrifty (everything was free!)
- Good Coffee: no (no food/drink there)
- Workout? — Yes, tons of hikes. There’s a short hike from the lower parking lot up to the ranch or a trailhead nearby into the Shell Ridge Open Space (4.7 mile moderate hike called Shell Ridge — Borges Ranch Loop).
- Kid-Friendly? — Yes (chickens, goats, tractors and bathrooms!)
- Recommendations for next time: there’s a community pool a couple of miles away at Castle Rock.
