Drive over the Leimert Bridge and you'd never guess there's a creek canyon below. Dimond Canyon is a narrow, wooded ravine where Sausal Creek runs through Oakland, and there's a trail along the water.
The trail
Hiking Project describes the Dimond Canyon Trail as a 0.7-mile point-to-point creekside hike that starts at El Centro. The first stretch is an easy graded dirt path into the woods. After that the trail narrows and disappears in places near an old WPA dam. In the dry season you hop along creek rocks to pick it back up beneath the Leimert Bridge. Past the bridge the path fades again, and it's a matter of wading or rock-hopping. Expect rocks, roots and small dams to scramble over. Users rate it intermediate. Trekking poles help, and there are no water fountains on the trail (the creek isn't drinkable), though Dimond Park has them. Dogs must be leashed.
A restored creek
Friends of Sausal Creek works to restore habitat in the canyon, with monthly volunteer days to pull invasive plants and replant natives. In 2001 the group and the City of Oakland restored two acres of creekside habitat in lower Dimond Canyon, which it says raised native vegetation cover by nearly 50%. In 2016 it worked with the city and Alameda County Flood Control to remove more than 250 feet of underground culvert and concrete spillway in Dimond Park, bringing that stretch of creek back into daylight and planting native alders and willows along it. In 2018 it stabilized three eroding gullies just upstream of the El Centro crossing.
Tips
Wear shoes you don't mind getting wet. Hiking Project's directions assume the dry season, so expect more water in the creek after rain. Volunteer workdays are a good way to learn the canyon.
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