You read us correctly. Contra Costa County’s own Vasco Caves are part of the East Bay Regional Parks District, and ready for you to explore.
From the East Bay Parks website:
Vasco Caves Regional Preserve is home to a stunning and unique combination of resources. Spectacular rock outcrops break suddenly from the rolling eastern foothills of Mount Diablo, providing magnificent scenery for hikers and geologists alike. Though ancient, the Preserve’s resources are extraordinarily fragile, and exist today because of the land’s isolation and past efforts to keep it secret.
The Preserve is home to endangered red-legged frogs, tiger salamanders, and fairy shrimp, and is habitat for kit foxes, eagles, and a variety of nesting raptors. Its robust grasslands are a successful demonstration of native bunchgrass restoration using sheep grazing. The archaeological sites of Vasco Caves Regional Preserve contain Indian rock art, part of a complex that reaches back nearly 10,000 years.
Because the fragile caves and endangered wildlife, getting to the caves is a little tricky. On the otherhand, the best way to see the caves is probably with a naturalist guide, anyway. For tour information and reservations, call 1-888-EBPARKS or 1-888-327-2757, press option 2, then 3.
To get to the Vasco Caves:
Tour groups stage at Round Valley Regional Preserve or Brushy Peak Regional Preserve, then take shuttle bus into Vasco Caves Regional Preserve.
Round Valley Regional Preserve is less than 8 miles from downtown Brentwood, and major sections of the route is designated for bikes.
Brushy Peak Regional Preserve, another beautiful park in its own right, is an easy bike ride from the Vasco Altamont Commuter Express station.
