How to Hike for Blackberries in the Corteva Wetlands with your Kids

While hiking the Corteva Wetlands Preserve along the Antioch delta, we found a trail lined with blackberry bushes just bursting with berries. I had to come home and write a blog post about it right away to let our fellow BIPOC hiking families know to get out there this summer.

The Corteva Wetlands Preserve is a hidden gem! It is made up of 421 acres of marshland and trails along the Delta. It is an Antioch City park, once purchased by Dow Chemical to prevent development near their chemical plant and now home to many species of birds, a beaver pond, and even a refuge for endangered species.

It is a neat ecosystem to visit and explore with your kids. Best of all – there were blackberries along the trail just waiting to be devoured by my two-year-old and four-year-old.

The city of Antioch is located on the stolen lands of the Bay Miwok people. Click here to learn more.

Before you go:

Check the traffic. Antioch is about a 50-minute drive from the East Bay Area without traffic but can be closer to a two-hour drive during full-traffic commuting hours. It is located on the far Eastern side of Contra Costa County along the Delta.
Check the weather. Antioch is very hot in the summer months, above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be chilly in the winter, around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit with rain. Plan accordingly.
Don’t follow Google Maps alone. The trail is tricky to find. There are two entrances to the Corteva Wetlands Preserve, one near the Dow Chemical main gate and the other near the Antioch Marina. Google maps does not take you to the correct location. We found an entrance on the Southwest corner of the parking lot near the Smith’s Landing Restaurant.

What to pack:

Sunscreen and hats
Water
Baby carrier or backpack

Tips to Hike in the Corteva Wetlands Preserve:

1. Finding the entrance.

To reach the wilderness area, walk along the paved path for about ten minutes, passing docked boats and bushes until you see the outdated workout station in desperate need of a paint job. Right past the grassy area you’ll see a sign that says “Corteva Wetlands Preserve.”

2. Trail time and distance.

Although the suggested route on All Trails was a 5.5-mile loop trail, we decided to hike as far as we could get in an hour at a toddler’s pace which, as you can guess, was not very far.

We didn’t make it as far as we could have since we stopped to pick berries every five minutes. If you want to hike farther, I’d recommend you don’t hike here during berry season or visit when you have plenty of time.

3. The terrain.

The ground along the trail was mostly dusty dirt with a few rocks.

There are a few boardwalks that lead you over extra murky parts of the marsh and areas of flowing water.

The boardwalks do not have railings, so keep an eye on your little ones who may lean too far over, tempted by a blackberry, and fall into the marsh.

4. Stops and viewpoints:

You’ll find observation decks and benches throughout the trail for wildlife viewing and breaks.

Bring your binoculars. Lucky for us, there were blackberry bushes at every stop!

5. The berries:

There are blackberry bushes lining the trail off and on throughout the hike. In mid-summer, the bushes were over six feet tall and created a tunnel of berries all around us as we walked down the boardwalk. We stopped to pick as many ripe ones as we could.

My toddler and preschooler were asking for more berries the entire hike, and at some point, I started using the berries as motivation to keep their little feet moving along the trail.

The berries on the bushes were only about 20% ripe when we passed through in early August. If you’re looking to eat a lot of blackberries on your hike, I would recommend visiting later in the month.

We started the hike early in the morning on a mid-August weekend and were surprised to see so few people on the trail enjoying the blackberry bounty.

Although I grew up in Antioch, I had never heard of the Corteva Wetlands Preserve which has been available to the public since the 1990s!

Sitting on the bench, watching the cattails blow in the wind, seabirds fly overhead, while munching blackberries with my berry-covered kiddos was a wonderful way to spend a summer morning.

Have you ever stumbled upon a trail covered in deliciously ripe fruit? Share in the comments below.

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Angel

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Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.