Things to Do

Lamorinda’s outdoor spaces are a major reason people move here. Rolling hills, reservoirs, miles of trails, and weather that lets you enjoy them year-round. Here’s how to make the most of it.

The Must-Dos

• Lafayette Reservoir — The crown jewel. Walk, jog, kayak, or just sit by the water.
• Lafayette-Moraga Trail — Paved path connecting two towns. Great for bikes, strollers, and morning runs.
• Orinda Theatre — Catch a film in an 80-year-old Art Deco landmark.

Parks & Recreation

Lafayette

• Lafayette Reservoir — 2.7-mile paved loop, kayaks, picnics
• Lafayette Community Park — playground, sports fields, dog park
• Briones Regional Park — 6,255 acres of ridge and grassland, trailhead access from Bear Creek Road
• Lafayette Community Center & pool

Moraga

• Moraga Commons Park — concerts, playground, bandshell
• Rancho Laguna Park — quieter alternative, good for small kids
• Campolindo trails — open to the public outside school hours
• Saint Mary’s College campus — walking paths and historic chapel

Orinda

• Orinda Oaks Park — playground and picnic areas
• Wagner Ranch Nature Area — educational trails, demonstration gardens
• Siesta Valley — quiet hiking with Mt. Diablo views
• San Pablo Dam Road scenic routes — for cyclists and Sunday drives
• Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve (accessible via Skyline)

Trails

The East Bay Regional Park District and local trail systems offer everything from paved paths to serious hikes:

• Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail — 7.6 miles, paved, flat, perfect for bikes and strollers
• Briones Regional Park trails — Mott Peak, Briones Peak, and the Old Briones Road climb from Bear Creek staging — real dirt and real elevation
• Briones to Mt. Diablo Trail — Connects regional parks, more serious hiking
• Reservoir rim trails — Both paved (2.7 mi) and unpaved (5+ mi) options
• Ohlone Point Trail — Climbs from the reservoir to Mt. Diablo views
• EBMUD trails — Permit required; quieter, more remote terrain

Dogs are welcome on leash on most paved Lamorinda trails. Always check trailhead signage.

Entertainment

• Orinda Theatre — First-run and independent films in an 80-year-old Art Deco landmark
• Summer Concerts at Moraga Commons — free Thursday-evening bandshell series, 2026 season opens Thursday, June 11 with Sun Kings (Beatles tribute); runs through August 20
• Farmers markets — Orinda Saturday and Moraga Sunday, both year-round 9am-1pm; second-weekend-of-June is graduation-party-prep peak

Sports & Active Recreation

• Pickleball in Lamorinda — Court locations, drop-in hours, and etiquette across Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda
• Tennis — Public courts at Orinda Community Center, Moraga Commons, and Lafayette Community Park
• Cycling — The Lafayette-Moraga Trail and Tunnel Road climbs are the regional favorites

Seasonal Note: First Week of June 2026

Graduation weekend is here. Acalanes graduates tonight, Friday June 5 — football field, 6 PM, gates open at 5. Campolindo graduates Saturday June 6 at its own home field. Miramonte’s ceremony follows the next weekend (June 12). Saint Mary’s College commencement weekend has already passed. Practical traffic note: Pleasant Hill Road between Stanley Boulevard and Highway 24 is effectively closed for normal use Friday 4:30–7 PM and Moraga Road / Camino Pablo near Campolindo is the same story Saturday 4:30–7 PM. Reroute downtown errands via Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The eastbound Caldecott Tunnel also gets a late-afternoon spike both days from out-of-town family driving in from Berkeley, Oakland, and SFO.

Last week of K-8 school. Most Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda K-8 sites finish the week of June 8-12. Acalanes Union HSD wraps Friday June 5 with tonight’s graduation — finals week is over, the campus quiets Monday. The trail and reservoir crowds shift dramatically the morning of Monday June 8 (camp season opens — see below). The mid-June 8-12 window is the last reliable stretch of quiet mid-morning trail use until September — book your weekday reservoir loop, Lafayette-Moraga Trail ride, or downtown brunch then if you can.

June Gloom is doing its thing — but mostly to other people. Marine layer mornings are showing up west of the Berkeley Hills ridge through about mid-June. Lamorinda usually clears by 9am or never sees it at all; Oakland, Berkeley, and the city often stay socked in until 10-11am. Practical impact for your morning plans: the Lafayette Reservoir and Lafayette-Moraga Trail tend to be sunny at 7:30am even on days the East Bay flats are gray. (Field report on the geography of this is in June Gloom and the Smug Side of the Tunnel.)

Sunset is past 8:25pm. Civil twilight runs to nearly 9pm. The after-dinner trail window is at its widest of the year. The reservoir gates close at sunset; the perimeter sidewalk on Mt. Diablo Boulevard and the Lafayette-Moraga Trail (no gate, no curfew) are the late-evening alternatives. Light layer recommended once the sun drops behind the ridge — the canyon cool moves fast on clear evenings.

Hills are gold. The two-tone watercolor moment is over for 2026 — the ridges have shifted to summer gold, with only the deepest canyon folds and shaded north slopes still holding any green. Dry season is on through October. Best ridge views: the Lafayette Reservoir rim trail and the high stretch of the Lafayette-Moraga Trail between the Olympic Boulevard staging area and Moraga Road.

Pool clubs are fully open. Lafayette Community Pool, Orinda Park Pool, Soda Aquatic Center at Campolindo, and the swim/tennis clubs (Burton Valley, Orinda Country Club, Moraga Country Club) are in regular-season hours. Lap swim starts as early as 5:30am; family swim runs through 8pm at most clubs through Labor Day. First full no-school weekend (June 13-14) is the unofficial pool-season peak — arrive early for a deck chair.

Farmers markets in stone-fruit transition. The Orinda Farmers Market (Saturday 9am-1pm, Orinda Way, in front of Rite Aid) and the Moraga Farmers Market (Sunday 9am-1pm, Moraga Center at Moraga Road & Moraga Way) are at the cherry-to-peach handoff. Late Brooks and Bing cherries are still around, the first real Brentwood peaches and apricots are arriving, and strawberries are deep into their second flush. (Note: there is no Lafayette Farmers Market — it closed in 2013 — so Lamorinda’s two farmers markets are Orinda Saturdays and Moraga Sundays.) See the Farmers Markets guide for the full rundown, or Farmers Market Theater for the local etiquette.

Moraga Commons concerts open Thursday June 11. The free Thursday-night summer series at the Moraga Commons bandshell runs 6:30-8:30pm weekly through August 20 — opening night is the Sun Kings (Beatles tribute). Bring blankets, low chairs, and food. The lawn fills by 6pm on the opening weeks — biking in via the Lafayette-Moraga Trail is the move on concert nights once parking gets tight.

Looking ahead — rest of June 2026: First 90°+ heat waves typically land in the second week. Monday June 8 is camp drop-off opening day across the Lafayette Community Center, Moraga Parks & Rec, and Orinda Community Center programs — expect 8:30-9:30am traffic spikes around all three civic centers and a sharp jump in midday Lafayette Reservoir crowds the same week. Reservoir parking is parking-pressure-mode from June 8 through Labor Day — arrive before 9am or after 5pm. Father’s Day (June 21) and the long days through the solstice (June 20) are the marquee outdoor window of the year.

The Lifestyle

Living here means integrating outdoors into your routine. Morning walks at the reservoir, bike commutes on the trail, post-dinner strolls through downtown. The infrastructure makes it easy.