A tapestry of
time and place

Stop 1Reliez Station Road

A Tapestry of Time and Place

The quiet entrance to this trail masks its significant history and location. Follow this path that has for centuries linked Lafayette south to Moraga and farther still to the magnificent redwoods of Canyon. Like Highways 24 and 680 today, this trail has spurred economic, cultural, and political connections between cities and villages west of the Oakland Hills to people and landscapes to the east through time.

First on foot, then by horse, then by rail until 1957, and, ultimately, by automobile, people continue to use this route to experience its stories and heritage.

Stop 2Topper Lane

Local Commerce Through Time and Space

You are standing on a historical transit route that connected lumber mills in the Oakland hills with shipping ports in Martinez during the redwood timber boom of the mid-1800s. In 1847, Lafayette town founder Elam Brown acquired the 3,329-acre former Mexican Land Grant Rancho Acalanes, and others set up stores to serve locals and travelers, including Gold Rush “49ers.”

In 1913, electric trains began service along this trail, with multiple stops in Lafayette allowing local merchants to sell goods to settlers, farmers and ranchers. Now a popular recreation trail, this corridor continues to serve local residents and visitors.

Stop 3Glenside Drive

Rapid Transit to Strolling, Rolling, and Riding

Passenger trains began rolling along this trail in 1913. By 1939, commuters could board the Sacramento Northern Railroad’s daily Comet and Meteor trains here at Glenside Drive and head directly to the streets of San Francisco via the lower-deck rails on the new Bay Bridge. The lines offered dining and parlor car service, operated at speeds up to 60 mph, and traveled from San Francisco to Sacramento in less than three hours.

This was one of the longest interurban rail routes in North America, from Chico to San Francisco, but costs outpaced revenues. The Bay Bridge (1936) and the new Caldecott Tunnel (1937), along with newly improved roads for cars, reduced train ridership. Passenger service ended in 1941 and freight service ended in 1957. With the 1974 opening of the Lafayette–Moraga Regional Trail, transit returned to the trail, but this time for pedestrians, bicyclists, and equestrians.

Stop 4Lafayette Community Center

Changing Transportation

Car ownership soared steadily beginning in the 1920s. In the 1950s, transportation officials proposed a four-lane freeway along today’s Lafayette–Moraga Regional Trail to serve drivers in nearby bedroom communities. This “Shepherd Canyon Freeway,” or Highway 77, would exit a tunnel from Oakland, bisect Moraga Valley and Burton Valley, passing just feet from this spot, to connect drivers to Highway 24. The State planned to use eminent domain to force property owners to sell their land to clear the way.

In 1972, after decades of community opposition, and the start of BART service, the State Assembly removed the project from the State Highway Plan. In 1975, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) removed Highway 77 from future consideration, bringing an end to the freeway that never was.

Explore the nearby interpretive panel showing how the Indigenous Bay Miwok tribal group has lived with this land along the Lafayette–Moraga Regional Trail and beyond since time immemorial. The panel is located in the Lafayette Community Center native plant garden and parking lot, next to the children’s play area.

Stop 5Rheem Boulevard & St. Mary’s Road

Prehistoric Life

Before you was once a vast inland sea. Over time, dynamic geology replaced the sea with hills and valleys. Fossilized snails, clams, and sand dollars can still be found here in the Moraga Valley. Footprints from prehistoric horses, amphibious rhinoceros, and camels have been discovered.

Long after the sea had disappeared, short-faced bears, bison, and mastodons also left their mark before their extinction 11,000–13,000 years ago, joining their predecessors in the fossil record.

Stop 6Saint Mary’s College

Tradition of Excellence and Transformation

Saint Mary’s College, a private Catholic university, came to Moraga in 1927 when the De La Salle Christian Brothers accepted land from James Irvine’s Moraga Company, an early local developer. Classes began in 1928 upon completion of the chapel and ten other buildings, all still in use today. Early on, the all-male college gained fame for its academic rigor and celebrated football team.

During World War II, many students left for military service, leaving a small number of scholars. The Navy used the campus for pre-flight training, departing soon after the war. The post-war GI Bill made college possible for many, revitalizing the student body. That revitalization continued in 1970, when the school became co-educational. Throughout these many transformations, a tradition of academic excellence defines this local landmark.

Stop 7Moraga Commons

Ranching: Shaping the Landscape Through Time

Moraga’s ranching history still defines the landscape, with open grasslands, ridges and woodlands, even street and school names. That history began when Spain governed much of what is now California from 1767 until Mexico gained control through its independence in 1821. Both governments instituted land grants for large ranchos to secure territory and promote economic growth.

In 1841, cousins Joaquin Moraga and Juan Bernal received the 13,316-acre Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados land grant, including today’s Moraga, and parts of Orinda and Lafayette. After California’s statehood in 1850, legal disputes and economic shifts led to the decline of many ranchos. Ranching continued during the gradual development of the area. Though only a fraction of the original rancho acreage is grazed today, its legacy continues to give the region its characteristic rural appearance.

Stop 8Moraga Country Club

Local Agribusiness

Over a period of years, lawyer and Oakland mayor Horace Carpentier acquired most of the former Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados land in the late 1800s, only to sell his holdings through the early 1900s.

By 1912, James Irvine had purchased 5,000 acres of the former Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados, and established the Moraga Company to develop a town site. Local issues, including insufficient water and utilities, and broader events—World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II—thwarted those early plans. Irvine’s family had tremendous wealth, later funding the James Irvine Foundation, from agricultural ventures in Southern California.

Irvine pivoted to convert this area into a vast agribusiness with acre after acre of walnuts, pears, peaches, sugar beets, pumpkins, navy beans, tomatoes and corn. Moraga became one of the largest Bartlett pear producers in the United States. The Sacramento Northern Railway shipped Moraga fruit and vegetables all over the country. Though development eventually came to Moraga, you can still find pear and walnut trees around town, hints of the town’s rich farming history.

Stop 9Valle Vista

A Lost Community

By 1914, James Irvine’s Moraga Company began developing Moraga’s first subdivision in the valley and hills before you. Residents of the Valle Vista development boarded electric commuter trains near this very spot, headed for Oakland through a tunnel in the Oakland Hills. Development halted when the East Bay Water Company announced plans in 1924 to flood the valley to create a source of drinking water for neighboring Alameda County.

The resulting 500-acre Upper San Leandro Reservoir today sits where the original Valle Vista homes were razed to make way for rising water. Hiking trails along former Valle Vista roadways reveal foundations of the Valle Vista development, offering a glimpse of this lost community.