The Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail is a pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path which runs between the cities of Lafayette and

Moraga Moraga is a List of municipalities in California, town in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The town is named in honor of Joaquín Moraga, member of the famed Californio family. As ...

in Contra Costa county, California. It was one of the first rail-trails to be built in California.

Route

The trail begins at the Olympic Boulevard staging area in Lafayette and ends at the Val Vista staging area in Moraga. Most of the trail is parallel to St. Mary's Road. The trail can be accessed from the Lafayette BART station, which is less than a mile's journey from where the trail meets 3rd Street and Moraga Boulevard. The trail is one part of the Lamorinda Trail Loop. The trail makes a connection to the Briones to Las Trampas Regional Trail via 3rd Street in Lafayette. It passes through the Moraga Commons park in Moraga and near the Lafayette Community Park in Lafayette. It passes near several schools, Saint Mary's College and Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School in Moraga, and Lafayette Elementary School in Lafayette. The trail terminates in the Valle Vista staging area in Moraga, which is on EBMUD land. An $1
EBMUD trail use permit
is required to hike in this area. The Valle Vista staging area connects to multiple EBMUD hiking trails, the 2.9 mile Redwood Trail (connecting to the East Ridge trail in Redwood Regional Park), and the 6.2 mile Rocky Ridge Trail. The trail is maintained by the East Bay Regional Park District. It is a wheelchair accessible paved trail.

History

The Lafayette-Moraga trail was built on the

Sacramento Northern Railway The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland ...

corridor which was once used to carry redwood lumber from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

to Sacramento. The corridor was first used by mule trains, and then by steam trains. The corridor then passed into a utility easement, before being converted into a paved multi-use recreational trail with the cooperation of local communities and utility districts.

January 2016 closure

A portion of the trail near the Valle Vista staging area has been closed since January 2016, due to a mudslide where Canyon Bridge crosses Moraga Creek. The closure is beyond downtown Moraga, and the main part of the trail between Lafayette and Moraga is still open. However, it is no longer possible to use the trail to reach the Valle Vista staging area in Moraga. The neighboring Canyon Road Bridge was closed in April 2017 but was reopened in November 2017, and it should be possible to reach the Valle Vista staging area via Canyon Road.

References

External links

Map of Lafayette-Moraga Trail

Lafayette-Moraga Trail Page on traillink.com
{{coord missing, Contra Costa County, California East Bay Regional Park District Rail trails in California Trails in the San Francisco Bay Area Bike paths in the San Francisco Bay Area Parks in Contra Costa County, California Transportation in Contra Costa County, California Lafayette, California