Pat O'Brien
General Manager
East Bay Regional Park District
Welcome to the East Bay Regional Park District's Internet website. The site is designed to help you take full advantage of the wonderful recreational and educational opportunities that are available in your regional parks.
For over seven decades, the East Bay Regional Park District has been preserving open space and enhancing the quality of life for millions of Alameda and Contra Costa residents. In the 1930s, we started with just three parks and a two-person staff. Today, we are the largest local park agency in the nation, managing 65 parks, over 98,000 acres, and 1,150 miles of trails in an urban area of more than 2.4 million residents. Our 600+ staff includes park rangers, recreation leaders, biologists, planners, police and fire personnel, and park naturalists.
Balancing the preservation of land with providing easy access for multiple uses is both challenging and rewarding. Our parks cover the spectrum. Some have minimal development and are ideal for hiking and nature study while others contain more developed areas for intensive recreation like boating, swimming, and fishing. Many are unique for their cultural or natural history. We have six interpretive centers offering educational programs throughout the year. Our recently expanded volunteer docent program will greatly enhance the public's opportunities to further experience our parks.
Environmental stewardship is a core value at the East Bay Regional Park District, and habitat restoration is an integral part of our mission. With less than 10 percent of our parkland developed for recreational uses, the majority of our open space is managed to protect and conserve native species and their habitats, including numerous rare and protected species. Our resource staff follows best management practices as set forth by leading scientific experts at Federal and State agencies and coordinates research with local universities to preserve and restore wetlands, streams, endangered species, and other wildlife habitat.
The Park District advocates for all Americans to lead healthy, active lifestyles and we've tailored popular recreation programs around this belief. All of our trail maps can be downloaded from this website. EBparks Online, our online registration program, provides detailed program descriptions and an easy-to-use registration process.
On behalf of the Park District, I hope you will visit often and enjoy your regional parks.
Sincerely,
Pat O'Brien, General Manager
East Bay Regional Park District