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Next volunteer workday

June 21

9:00-11:00 am. Meet at the Cortereal Ave. entrance to the trail. If interested in participating, and would like us to send you details when available, please click here

Alerts

Poison oak and toxic mushrooms

Best to entirely avoid these hazards by staying on the paved parts of the trail, and by keeping children close and dogs on leash.

more info

Reminder

To keep your pets safe from seasonal hazards please keep dogs on the path and on leash. Thank you.
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Past to
Present

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Sacramento Northern passenger train winding through Shepherd Canyon en route to Montclair Village and San Francisco

From a Railroad…

The trail stretching from Montclair Village through Shepherd Canyon was built on top of a railroad bed, where one of the longest all-electric rail lines in the U.S. once ran. Service began in 1911. The train, originally called the Oakland & Antioch Railway, became the Sacramento Northern, eventually transporting passengers from San Francisco across the lower deck of the Bay Bridge through Oakland and all the way to Chico.

The rising popularity of the automobile marked the end of the Sacramento Northern Railroad, which ceased passenger service in 1941.

Forseeing the trend, Caltrans started buying up land to build a multi-lane highway (to be called Highway 77) from Park Blvd. to Walnut Creek. But by the 1970s, the community pushed back on the highway proposal citing that BART and nearby Highway 24 made it redundant. Postponing development, the city of Oakland launched one of the first EIRs (Environmental Impact Reports) in California, under a then-new statute called the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

With the alignment of all parties, the Shepherd Canyon Corridor Plan was created.

For more historical material

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

What was once Haven’s Station is now the entrance to the Montclair Railroad Trail at Bishops Court

The Ray Raineri Collection

The Ray Raineri Collection

The Ray Raineri Collection

At the 1939 Montclair flagstop (near the trail entrance at the top of LaSalle Ave. today)

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Generating excitement for electric rail

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Passengers in a train’s caboose, stopped while another train passes in Montclair

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

A 1922 newspaper clipping with a caption worth reading (click)

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

Courtesy of the Western Railway Museum

The SN 1015 heads to the Montclair central business district through the Melin Cut, May 1938. The cut was cleared using mules, dynamite and hand picks

Same view of the Melin Cut today

…to a Natural Corridor

Once the trains stopped running, the remains of the train system disappeared almost overnight, as salvage operators took away the rails, ties, trestles, buildings and even the trackbed.

Then train tunnel entrances were sealed, and guided by the new plan, the land was bought by the East Bay Regional Park District and leased to the City of Oakland.

Where trains once clanked and rumbled noisily day and night eventually became a serene path and conservation area. Decades of restoration work by city and non-profit groups, along with dedicated volunteers and experts, have created this unique community gem.

The Shepherd Canyon Corridor Plan provided the vision for the trail and other green spaces after the highway plan was defeated

The Shepherd Canyon Corridor Plan provided the vision for the trail and other green spaces after the highway plan was defeated