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The East Bay Regional Park District board agreed unanimously at a meeting last month to allow guided tours of Doolan Canyon Regional Preserve in the Tri-Valley, beginning sometime in the next couple of years.
Simultaneous to the guided tours, EBRPD staff were directed to study resources at Doolan Canyon in the interest of potentially opening the preserve for public access as well as an approximately 4.5-acre site nearby dubbed the Olsen property for picnicking.
Located north of Interstate 580 between the cities of Livermore and Dublin, the approximately 800-acre site is designated in part as a conservation easement but it is operated wholly as “conservation land” without public access, according to a staff report prepared by Brian Holt, EBRPD acting assistant general manager of acquisition, stewardship and planning.
The approximate cost of access options include $302,500 one-time and $175,000 annually for the pilot project to open the preserve; $87,500-$331,500 one-time and upwards of $170,000-$280,000 annually for managed access; and upward of $392,000 one-time and $180,000 annually for the opening of the Olsen property.
Direction to EBRPD staff came during the board’s April 7 regular meeting. Despite the unanimous tally, the item on Doolan Canyon took up about half of the approximately four-hour meeting.
“Doolan Canyon would be the closest and most accessible open space for thousands of current and future residents in Livermore and Dublin,” Livermore City Councilmember Evan Branning said via email interview after the meeting. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to easily enjoy nature, and opening Doolan Canyon will provide a beautiful trail in our area.”
EBRPD purchased a 640-acre portion of the preserve dubbed the Schmitz property in partnership from the city of Livermore. Of that property, 211-acre were established as a conservation easement to mitigate for development projects in Livermore that impacted special-status species.
EBRPD expanded the preserve in 2018 with its acquisition of the 160-acre Northern Grove property, according to the staff report.
During the meeting April 7, options before the board included continued operation of the preserve as conservation land, a pilot project to open Doolan Canyon for public access, a pilot project for managed access to the space and the opening of Olsen property for picnicking — the site is located about half a mile south of Doolan Canyon, along Doolan Road.
Considerations in opening Doolan Canyon to public access are its resources, accessibility and natural hazards, the report states.
Doolan Canyon features “extensive biological diversity” including seven special-status species observed on-site with the potential of many more to occur. There are also a total of 44 special-status plant species with either a low or moderate potential to occur in Doolan Canyon, but EBRPD has not surveyed for special-status plants and none have been observed.
In addition to natural resources, Doolan Canyon is located in an area known to be inhabited by Ohlone peoples, the report states. EBRPD has not conducted comprehensive cultural resource studies of the preserve, but “it is anticipated that cultural resources are present throughout the region”, the report states.
In terms of accessibility, there are limited options for parking in the area. To potentially address the issue, the EBRPD board approved the purchase of the Olsen property.
Additional planning would be necessary to create a safe route from Olsen property and Doolan Canyon, since the connector is the county-owned Doolan Road. The road includes two lanes that narrow to one while approaching Doolan Canyon.
“Olsen property is the best staging area,” Acting General Manager Max Korten said during the meeting. “People walking on the road would probably be the ideal as to how to enter the park.”
The preserve also presents weather-related hazards, sink holes, a lack of cell phone service and no potable water, the report states.
Director Olivia Sanwong, who represents Dublin and Livermore on the EBRPD board, noted during the meeting that other district parks have the same issue of not offering potable water.
During the public comment period, Larry Gosselin, owner of the property immediately east of Doolan Canyon, expressed an interest in opening the preserve for public access and providing that access from Collier Canyon Road.
Gosselin also expressed his support for opening access to the preserve.
“We have our plates overrunning with mitigation,” Gosselin said during public comment. “Mitigation doesn’t provide what families are asking for in our county.”
In contrast, EBRPD rangeland specialist Allison Rofe spoke out against opening Doolan Canyon to public access.
Operate Doolan Canyon as conservation land, Rofe requested.
“I urge you to do that because these communities are highly sensitive and humans have impact. and we’re just talking about really small acreage,” she explained.
On the side of opening Doolan Canyon for full recreational access was the city of Livermore, expressed via letter to the board.
“As the Isabel Neighborhood and surrounding areas plan for expected growth, the City is seeking to ensure a diverse network of publicly accessible parks and open spaces,” wrote Brent Smith, community development director for the city of Livermore. “Doolan Canyon has long been anticipated to play a meaningful role in meeting that need.”
During the board’s discussion, Director John Mercurio noted the role of surrounding conservation easements in alleviating the need for all of Doolan Canyon to be closed to the public.
“There’s lots of other land that will not have anybody on it and I just don’t think it’s necessary really to close our part to all usage,” Mercurio explained.
Director Elizabeth Echols expressed interest in studying biodiversity and cultural resources on the preserve.
“I do also feel the urgency here, so I don’t want us to study it forever, but I do feel like, given how special this land is, that it’s worth taking a look at what is there,” Echols said.
Sanwong agreed on the importance of studying the preserve. She also expressed an interest in including in a comprehensive study potential access to the preserve via Collier Canyon Road through the Gosselin property.
“The Park District will initiate resource studies to evaluate the most appropriate areas for public access,” EBRPD spokesperson Jen Vanya said via email interview. “These studies will inform the development of a land use plan to guide long-term public access.”
A formal budgeting process is also needed to open the preserve for public access or use of the Olsen property.
The decision has no immediate fiscal impact, but $150,000 was allocated in the park district’s 2026 budget to conduct studies, resource assessments or other projects with the aim of opening Doolan Canyon to the public.
“I am very pleased that the EBRPD Directors recognized the need for additional investment in accessible open space in our area,” Branning told Livermore Vine.
