Creeks, waterfalls will be reborn
If you are in the Bay Area, no matter where you are, you can pick a creek, waterfall or lake that is located inside your “10-mile bubble” and watch it return to life after storms.
The 10-mile bubble is where Bay Area residents take 2 out of 3 trips, according to in-house recreation studies with park districts.
Thursday’s big storm, with more than 2 inches of rain projected for Marin and an inch across most of the region, is a drencher in what has started as more typical winter weather than the past three years.
For some, this winter’s water watch will turn into an outdoor sport.
When the ground is saturated, every crevice in the foothills collects rain.
Eventually, it pools and then flows downhill, and in the process, Bay Area creeks, waterfalls and lakes are revived.
In the next 4-5 weeks, coho salmon will swim from the ocean along their migratory route through Tomales Bay up Lagunitas Creek.
Adult coho are bright maroon; seeing them in the pools is spectacular.
[...] the upper lakes in the watershed fill quickly.
Downstream, Bon Tempe pours into Alpine (71), which — when full — spills over the dam and creates a gorgeous 140-foot stepped cascade into the canyon below.
Here is a county-by-county guide detailing the best creeks, waterfalls and lakes that are being brought back to life by the rains:
Lagunitas Creek, Shafter Bridge, Samuel P. Taylor State Park; Lagunitas Creek, below Alpine Dam; San Geronimo, Nicasio and Olema creeks, Devil’s Gulch (all tributaries to Lagunitas Creek)
Pine Creek, Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, Walnut Creek; Donner Creek, Mount Diablo State Park (Clayton access); Wildcat Creek, Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, Richmond foothills; headwater flows of Walnut Creek (the stream, not the city); San Leandro Creek (along Pinehurst Road) above Upper San Leandro Reservoir.
Diablo State Park (out of Clayton); Abrigo Falls, Briones Regional Park.
Redwood Creek in Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills; Alameda Creek in Niles Canyon near Sunol; Arroyo Del Valle, where it enters Del Valle Reservoir south of Livermore; Bollinger Creek in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness near San Ramon.
Napa River headwaters, Napa; Dry, Rector and Milliken creeks (tributaries of Napa River); Devil’s Well, Archer Taylor Preserve.
Pescadero Creek headwaters, Portola Redwoods State Park, La Honda; Peters Creek headwaters, Portola Redwoods State Park, La Honda; Pescadero Lagoon, Pescadero Marsh/Beach State Park; San Gregorio Creek, San Gregorio; Purisima Creek, Purisima Redwoods Open Space Preserve; San Andreas Creek, Crystal Springs Watershed, San Bruno.
Stevens Creek headwaters, Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, Palo Alto foothills; Los Trancos Creek, Foothills Park, Palo Alto foothills; San Francisquito Creek, Palo Alto Baylands; San Felipe Creek, Joseph D. Grant County Park; Coyote Creek headwaters, Henry W. Coe State Park, Morgan Hill; Coyote Creek, Morgan Hill; Los Gatos Creek, Lexington Reservoir to Lake Vasona, San Jose; Penitencia Creek, Penitencia Creek Park, San Jose; Guadalupe River, Almaden, San Jose.
Black Rock Falls, Basin Falls, Triple Falls, Upper Falls, Granuja Falls, Uvas Canyon County Park, Coyote.
San Lorenzo River, Boulder Creek to Santa Cruz; best viewed at Henry Cowell State Park; Waddell Creek, Berry Creek, Opal Creek, Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Berry Creek Falls, Silver Falls, Golden Cascade, Sempervirens Falls, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Boulder Creek; Castle Rock Falls, Castle Rock State Park, Skyline (above Los Gatos).