1/5 Haley W. 2 months ago on Google • 6 reviews New
tl;dr:
for
those
looking
to
hike
the
extensive
trails
here,
be
prepared
to
step
in
cow
poop,
deal
with
destroyed
trails
from
the
herds,
and
circumnavigate
cows
displaying
aggressive
behavior.
Priority
at
this
park
appears
to
be
cows
>
people.
Full
review:
For
years
I
have
recommended
Black
Diamond
Mines
as
my
favorite
of
the
EBRPD
parks.
Unfortunately
leadership
at
this
park
has
apparently
decided
to
prioritize
cows
over
people
of
late,
and
appears
to
be
more
"publicly
subsidized
ranch
land"
than
public
resource.
(Before
accusing
me
of
hyperbole,
a
note
that
one
of
the
few
other
hikers
I
encountered
had
been
driven
to
carrying
a
fake
cattle
prod
with
him
because
of
the
number
of
times
he's
encountered
aggressive
cattle.)
For
context,
I
usually
do
an
8.5-10
mile
loop,
so
this
does
not
refer
to
the
mine
tours
or
more
developed
areas.
When
I
visited
in
late
January
after
a
week
+
without
rain,
I
found
that
cows
lined
the
trails
for
nearly
the
entirety
of
my
8+
mile
hike,
and
that
three
times
I
needed
to
adjust
my
trail
choice
to
accommodate
either
"ornery
bulls"
as
they
were
described
by
a
fellow
hiker,
or
cows
that
were
anxious
of
me
being
near
their
calves
and
didn't
back
down
as
I
called
to
them/approached.
Although
the
park
is
supposedly
"dogs
off-leash",
I
needed
to
keep
mine
on
for
the
entirety
of
the
hike
because
of
the
restrictrictions
on
dogs
around
livestock.
Not
only
was
the
presence
of
the
cows
themselves
disruptive,
but
they
had
torn
up
the
trails
to
the
point
that
they
were
nearly
impassible,
and
if
I
weren't
already
4+
miles
into
my
hike,
I
would
have
turned
around
to
avoid
them.
Between
trying
not
to
roll
my
ankle
in
their
hoof
prints,
and
the
futility
of
avoiding
stepping
in
cow
poop,
it
was
a
long
way
from
being
a
restful
communion
with
nature
and
appreciation
of
the
park.
(Attached
pictures
from
different
sections
of
trail,
as
well
as
a
warning
on
what
your
shoes
may
look
like
after
your
visit.)
If
the
park
system
is
so
keen
on
prioritizing
grazing
in
the
parks,
it
would
be
great
to
either
mark
destroyed
trails
as
"closed",
or
do
what
Walnut
Creek
Open
Space
has
previously
done
and
put
electric
fencing
along
the
trails
to
keep
the
cows
from
destroying
them
while
allowing
people
to
still
access
the
land.
I'm
not
against
the
multi-use
nature
of
the
parks,
but
please
don't
call
something
a
public
park
when
in
reality
it's
publicly
accessible
ranch
land.
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