ROADS BACK OF LAKE CHABOT SHOWN - Oakland Tribune Oakland, California · Sunday, August 09, 1914

I am fascinated with the history of the roads and trails of my place, especially the old ones. This 1914 automotive touring article describes a trip along some relatively old roads; East 14th & Foothill Boulevards are basically the old Camino Real, or Mission road from the time of the Spanish missions. The road he describes from Hayward is the old Redwood Road, used to bring lumber to the wharves of Castro Valley from the various mills in Redwood Canyon, and the Moraga road descent to Piedmont Avenue return is also a very old redwood logging road. 

From  Redwoods Atop Oakland Hills First Brought Settlers Here - Oakland Tribune - 09 Oct 1966, Sun - Page 137

I'll go into details of the journey at the bottom of this page. These are all roads I like to ride on my bicycle. The new automobile gave people the chance to explore, and this article was a description of a fun, challenging exploration in the hills and canyons "back of Lake Chabot,"

AUTOMOBILE ROAD MAP OF THE HAYWARD-REDWOOD CANYON AUTO TOUR AS COMPILED BY THE AUTOMOBILE DEPARTMENT OF THE TRIBUNE FROM THE DATA SECURED FROM THE SPEEDOMETER OF A BUICK CAR DRIVEN OVER THE ROUTE THIS WEEK BY FRANK SANFORD OF THE HOWARD AUTOMOBILE COMPANY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUPPLYING THIS DATA FOR THE READERS OF TODAY'S OUTING SECTION. SAVE THIS SECTION, AS THE MAP WILL NOT APPEAR AGAIN.

ROADS BACK OF LAKE CHABOT SHOWN

Trail History: Playground for Motorcyclists, AKA Redwood Motorcycle Hill, AKA Rutwood, AKA Soaring Hawk Trail

History

There are at least two Grass Valleys in California. The one we know in Oakland, in 2023 is near the Oakland Zoo, at the bottom of Golf Links road. In the middle of the 20th century Grass Valley was the name of the valley bordered by Redwood Road on the north, San Leandro reservoir to the east, Lake Chabot on the south and Skyline Boulevard on the west. The Grass Valley trail runs down much of its length. Before the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) was formed, it was one of the areas considered for purchase by the East Bay Regional Park Board, along with Redwood Canyon, Sibley and Wildcat Canyon. In 1951 the sale of Grass Valley by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to EBRPD was proposed, and in 1952, it was sold. In 1965 Grass Valley Park was renamed Anthony Chabot Regional Park.

Map of GRASS VALLEY PARK AREA 25 Jan 1951, Thu Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) Newspapers.com

WATER SUPPLY. - How Oakland is Supplied from Extensive Reservoirs. - Oakland Tribune Oakland, California · Thursday, January 20, 1887

WATER SUPPLY.

How Oakland is Supplied from Extensive Reservoirs.

The Contra Costa Water Company, which supplies our city, is well worthy an extended description.

Oakland was but a village when in 1868 Mr. Chabot first introduced water into its streets by a pipe line laid from the bed of Temescal creek, some three miles away, but its promise of growth was such that it seemed to warrant the construction of a reservoir of moderate dimensions for impounding water, and in the spring of the same year the Temescal dam was begun at a point 4.72 miles northeast of the city. A point was selected some 500 feet above the present site of the dam, but after building heavy masonry arches of cut stone for a waste-way, and excavating for a puddle-wall, the bottom proved defective, and the work was abandoned after expending some $15,000. The present site was then selected, and the dam built to a height of 105 feet above the creek bed, or 427 feet above Oakland base, with a top width of 18 feet, and slopes of about 2 1⁄2 to 1 on both sides, which have since been increased from year to year by sluicing in material from the hillsides, by means of ditches that run full for a few days after heavy storms.