Walnut Creek Community Regional Park

Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

This is the one thing to know before you drive out. The park is open Wednesday through Sunday, 6 AM to 8 PM, and closed Monday and Tuesday. People still turn up on Mondays.

Parking is free.

What it actually is

117 acres along Valley Center Avenue, running between Covina and San Dimas. It is a creek canyon rather than a ballfield park, so if you are bringing a soccer ball you want somewhere else.

The Walnut Creek Trail, also called the Antonovich Trail, runs through it. Hiking, mountain biking and equestrian, all on the same corridor. There is an equestrian staging area with room for about ten trucks and trailers. Leashed dogs are fine.

Which entrance to use

  • Valley Center Staging Area, at the south end of Valley Center Ave, is the flattest start in either direction. Use this one if you want a walk rather than a workout.

  • San Dimas Avenue, just north of Avenida Loma Vista, drops you straight into the canyon. Quick to reach the creek, steep coming back out.

  • Lyman and Reeder Avenue are the other two access points.

The stream crossings

There are several, and they are the character of this trail. Heavy shade and running water make it one of the few places in the valley that is genuinely comfortable in August.

After real rain the crossings run deep. Locals know to wait a few days. Wet feet in shoes for another two miles is how blisters happen.

Afterwards

Trail walking is uneven walking. Loose rock, roots and stream banks mean the small muscles of the foot and the ankle are working constantly to keep you level, in a way that a treadmill or a sidewalk never asks for. That work is what you feel later, and it sits in the arch and around the ankle rather than in the big muscles.

A foot session works the arch and the reflex points of the feet and lower legs directly, starting with a warm mineral soak. Fully clothed, at a curtained station in the Reflex Lounge.

Serenity Zen is in West Covina at 423 N Azusa Ave and in Diamond Bar at 1168 S Diamond Bar Blvd. Both studios keep the same hours. Open daily, 10 AM to 9 PM.