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City in California, United States
Photo: Jeffreymendel Jeffrey Nash, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Walnut Creek is a typical, medium-sized suburban city on the western edge of Mount Diablo, about 17 miles (25 km) east of Oakland in Contra Costa County. After being part of a Spanish land grant comprising several ranchos, the first Midwestern settlers of European descent in this area planted walnut trees. Some of these trees grew close to a small creek; thus, over time the locals came to call the creek "Walnut Creek," but the town was known as "The Corners." Today, Walnut Creek is mostly known for its retail and restaurant offerings. The city also boasts extensive protected open space for hiking and picnicking, as well as a predominantly sunny and warm climate with a briefly cool and wet winter.
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The city's performing and visual arts center, opened in October 1990, houses the 800-seat Hofmann Theatre, the 300-seat Margaret Lesher Theatre, the 130-seat Knight Foundation Stage 3 theatre, the Bedford Gallery, offices and rehearsal space. Pretty impressive for a suburb, but not exactly The Met. It was opened as the Regional Center for the Arts (RCA), but the name was changed to the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts after a donation from the Lesher Foundation. The word "Regional" was subsequently removed to encourage patronage from the greater Bay Area.
Well worth a visit for the opportunity to see owls, hawks, and other wildlife up close and (often) not from behind glass or cages. This museum is actually a wildlife rehabilitation and educational center that focuses on native California wildlife and natural history. The museum exhibits live, non-releasable native wildlife. Founded in 1955, the museum operates the oldest and one of the largest wildlife rehabilitation hospitals in the United States, treating more than 6,000 injured and orphaned wild animals each year.
The former ranch of early Walnut Creek pioneer Frank Borges, Old Borges Ranch is the home base for Walnut Creek's Shell Ridge Open Space activities. The ranch complex includes a blacksmith shop, numerous outbuildings, and farm equipment displays. It also features a barn and covered trellis available for group reservations. The Borges family home, built in 1901, houses historical displays of the early 1900s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Old Borges Ranch is a great place to go if you forgot or always wondered what growing up on a farm was like.
This 2½-acre public dry garden preserves an exceptional example of Southwest American garden design, demonstrating the beauty and excitement possible in a water-conserving landscape. Internationally recognized as one of the finest private gardens in North America, the garden was the first in the United States to be sponsored by The Garden Conservancy. The garden showcases rare and unique species of cactus, succulents, palms, and desert trees, while still maintaining the lush and manicured style typical of Northern California.
Built by early Walnut Creek pioneer Hiram Penniman, this 1903 redwood-framed house is a showcase for numerous historical artifacts, many of which belonged to the Pennimans. It also houses a rich archive of Contra Costa and Walnut Creek history in its collections of old newspapers, photographs and government records. The museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and belongs to the city, but is operated by the Walnut Creek Historical Society. Museum tours are offered every week from February to October.
A permanent, 1,800-square-foot model train layout. It includes an HO-scale train set with more than 4,300 feet of track on over 175,000 ties and over 340 turnouts.
This is a 177-acre open space in the southern part of Walnut Creek. Visitors can enjoy amazing ridgeline views, scenic trails and a walnut orchard. There are also picnic areas and restrooms.
This is an 18-hole municipal course overlooking Walnut Creek.
This multi-use, whole-access trail runs between Concord and Pleasanton. The Walnut Creek part of the trail goes directly into the heart of downtown Walnut Creek. The trail abuts what's left of the actual waterway named "Walnut Creek," which is now mostly routed underneath Broadway Plaza. Widely used by dog owners, cyclists, and recreational buffs, the Iron Horse Trail follows the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way established in 1891 and abandoned in 1977. If you walk your dog on the Iron Horse Trail, please use the complimentary pooperscooper bags provided for your convenience.
Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area is a public park in the East Bay Regional Park District. The park is adjacent to Diablo Foothills, in a scenic canyon along Pine Creek. The area is dominated by oak woodlands and prominent sandstone formations. Volleyball courts, softball fields, picnic sites, and a swimming pool are available for public recreation. The pool complex features a 30 feet by 70 feet swimming pool and deck areas. In addition, the complex is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, including the bathhouse and an accessible lift into the pool. There is a beach access fee to enter the swim area. Swimming is allowed only when lifeguards are on duty.
A Sweet Affair Bakery and Cafe is a popular, family-owned, local bakery. Opened in 1984, A Sweet Affair describes itself as an "old time" bakery, baking everything from scratch, without preservatives, palm oil, or lard. The bakery offers a wide variety of pastries (e.g., Danishes, scones, cinnamon rolls, croissants), cakes, cookies, and muffins, as well as coffee and espresso. For lunch and dinner, A Sweet Affair serves a variety of sandwiches on thirteen different freshly-baked breads. Also has a second location with limited hours across from the BART station.
A modestly priced Cuban-inspired restaurant serving various tapas and other Cuban/Caribbean-style dishes. Located in central downtown Walnut Creek, it's a short walk from Broadway Plaza and the Lesher Center for the Arts. It has an excellent bar that serves a variety of mojitos and other cocktails and it stays open until 11PM on Mondays-Wednesdays and midnight on Thursdays-Saturdays.
Nothing fancy, just large portions or well-cooked American fare. The menus all feature crayon-drawn pigs from the restaurant's younger clients, which is fitting given the Hick'ry Pit's reputation for bacon offerings. If you want a place that fills you up with good food, and service that ensures your coffee cup never goes empty, this is about as good of an option as can be found in the Bay Area. Prices are just a bit on the high side, but given the portion sizes and the quality of the ingredients it's worth paying a couple of dollars extra.
Deep, deep, deep in the suburbs is one of the best pizza places around. Rocco's is your typical red-checker table cloth suburban pizzeria, serving pasta along with pizza dishes. The pasta isn't worth the trip, but the pizza is (such as Anthony's East Coaster). Go during the special on Sundays and Mondays -- pitchers of beer are half off and Large pizzas are around $12. Otherwise go to the website and use the coupon to save money that you can apply toward the gas you spent driving out there.
One of the more popular restaurants in town offering high quality food and a casual atmosphere. At its opening, the restaurant was affiliated with award winning celebrity chef Michael Chiarello's Tra Vigne restaurant in Napa, but he is no longer invested in the local mini-chain. One can order brick-oven pizza there with a variety of interesting toppings, or the specialty, "piadine," which is flat bread with a "salad" on top of it. The polenta appetizer is also a must try with baked polenta, parmesean cheese, and tomato sauce.
Walnut Creek's take on small plates done in chef Kelly Degala's California Asian Fusion Style with several wines. This restaurant was once touted by famed San Francisco Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer as worth a drive from San Francisco for its stellar food and inviting indoor-outdoor atmosphere, although a second location was opened in San Francisco's Presidio District in 2006. Many wines are offered by the glass in addition to flights (tastes of three different wines). Weather permitting, try to eat outside by the oak tree; it's several hundred years old and perhaps one of the oldest remaining wild trees left in all of Walnut Creek.
The "Irish" and "Sports" portions of the bar's title may be questionable, but amongst Walnut Creek's trendier offerings, Dan's stands out as a true "Bar". Bands on weekends, a raucous crowd, great happy hour specials ($3 Fat Tire drafts on Tuesdays, $2 domestic drafts other days), and pool in the back make this a worthwhile alternative to some of the other Walnut Creek hotspots. The $3 weekend cover can be a small turnoff, but it's Walnut Creek - you can't have everything.
Billiards, billiards, and more billiards. About 30 tables are arranged in this converted hardware store. The food is dreadful, but the billiards and beer are just fine. The local kids have made this the place to hang, so expect a line to get in on Friday and Saturday nights. A cute wait staff and a willingness to serve all but the most intoxicated drunks makes this bar a comfortable place to spend time. If you're prone to inner ear infections, do not go on karaoke night.
Mr Lucky's is the last "old fashioned, honest bar" you will find downtown. Friendly, no-nonsense bartenders pour proper drinks at reasonable prices. Can be a scene Th F Sa nights, with a line to get in and lots of fun inside. Bring your ID, they are 100% strict on this. Surprisingly good lunch menu. Open late, the place can liven up when other spots shut down.
Casual local plant-based café with relaxing music. The focus is coffee, but it also serves waffles, smoothies, and simple lunches.
A casual coffee house and wine bar style cafe in Walnut Creek. The coffee is excellent, the ambiance laid back European, the food is simple and excellent, and if you ask they will make you an excellent bacon and egg sandwich. A little wifi enabled sanctuary. It is open late (from midnight to 1AM, depending on the day) and can be a bit of a hipster hangout, especially at night.
Micro-roastery offers gourmet coffee and teas, live music, and free Wi-Fi access in a friendly, family-owned, neighborhood cafe. This family does everything itself: constructing the interior, roasting their own coffee, running the store themselves. A great place to relax on a Sunday morning.
24 rooms and a swimming pool located in downtown Walnut Creek. This hotel is Walnut Creek's concept of budget accommodation at $70–110 per night.
You know what to expect from an Embassy Suites since this one is like any of the countless others across the country. If you stay here, you will be a couple miles from downtown Walnut Creek.
Motel 6 provides any visitor to Walnut Creek exactly the same experience that they would experience in any one of a thousand Motel 6s across the United States. If you like other Motel 6s you'll like this place.
This hotel seeks to claim the upscale hotel title of Walnut Creek. Perhaps it is, but it's quite a trek from downtown if you don't have a car. It's next to the Iron Horse Trail and has an extraordinary fitness center. This is the place to stay if you are a total workout freak and can't stand the thought of staying in Walnut Creek over several nights without a vigorous workout washed down with wheatgrass lattes. Most likely, you are staying here on business because of the little corporate downtown around the Pleasant Hill BART station, are staying here in some misguided attempt to save on hotel expenses on your trip to San Francisco, are trying to impress your corporate underling with whom you're having an affair, or all of the above.
A 338-room hotel that caters to business travelers, located close to the highway and BART. Fitness center, pool, restaurant, and pretty much anything else that every other Marriott in the country has. Rates average nearly $200 per night, although if you are staying here you're probably going to expense the whole thing.
Complimentary hot breakfast, free Wi-Fi, shuttle, swimming pool & fitness center.
Broadway Plaza is a high-end outdoor mall located in downtown Walnut Creek. As one of the first post-World War II malls, Broadway Plaza was designed on an open-air model. In subsequent years, the trend in mall design gravitated toward the self-contained monstrosities that have become the signature of the suburban lifestyle. As an open-air mall, Broadway Plaza integrates well with the existing downtown. Parking is perhaps the only negative, although expensive valet service is available on weekends and during peak shopping seasons. Three large parking structures are available for use. Major tenants include Nordstrom, Macy's, Banana Republic, California Pizza Kitchen, J. Crew, P.F. Chang's, and other upscale chain retailers.
Downtown Walnut Creek is home to many local stores and businesses. After your next shopping spree to Baby Gap or Pottery Barn for Kids, make a detour down Locust and Main Streets. The variety and unique quality of the local shops complement Broadway Plaza and preserve Walnut Creek's small town feel. Many restaurants offer sidewalk or patio seating, except in mid-winter, creating a Mediterranean pedestrian feel. Occasionally, Walnut Creek will close down one of the downtown streets for art festivals.
This small market is more than it appears (i.e. dilapidated shack), and despite its name, is a specialty Japanese market jam-packed with Japanese foodstuffs that are nearly impossible to find on this side of the Bay Bridge. From natto and fresh tuna to sake and Santoku knives, this market has more Japanese foodstuffs per square foot than any other place in the Bay Area.
By bus
By BART
For those without a car or who do not want to drive through a suburban wonderland, the easiest way of getting to Walnut Creek is by BART. The Walnut Creek BART station is at 200 Ygnacio Valley Rd.
By bicycle
For those who prefer to put the pedal to the metal the old-fashioned way (on bicycle), the Iron Horse Trail runs North/South, neatly bisecting Walnut Creek into the west side, where most of the…
By boat
For the nautically inclined, drop anchor at the nearest marina (either Oakland, Berkeley, or Martinez), and arrange transportation accordingly.
By plane
If flying is your thing, Buchanan Field in Concord (CCR) serves as your gateway to Walnut Creek.
By public transportation
If you don't have a car or prefer to use public transportation, the County Connection bus line is your ticket to reach Walnut Creek.
By car
Most use a car to get around Walnut Creek. Be careful of pedestrians; they tend to jump off corners when you least expect it.
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