Qualla: Brooks Island Regional Preserve

Brooks Island Regional Preserve: Introduction

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit sfbaywalk from Oakland, Cal, CC BY 2.0. You cannot just go to Brooks Island. The 75-acre island and its 300 acres of surrounding bay waters are protected as a regional preserve, accessible only through naturalist-led tours operated by the East Bay Regional Park District. This restriction preserves one of the last undeveloped islands in San Francisco Bay -- a place where native grassland, nesting shorebirds, and a 2,000-year-old Ohlone shellmound exist undisturbed by the urbanization that has transformed every other piece of land visible from its shores.

Image: sfbaywalk from Oakland, Cal | CC BY 2.0

Brooks Island Regional Preserve: The Undeveloped Island

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Map of California highlighting Alameda County.svg David Benbennick derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, Public domain. Brooks Island sits in the central bay between Richmond and San Francisco, surrounded by one of the most densely developed metropolitan areas in the country. That it remains undeveloped is remarkable. Every other island of comparable size in the bay has been built upon, bridged to...

Image: Map of California highlighting Alameda County.svg David Benbennick derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי | Public domain

Brooks Island Regional Preserve: The Shellmound

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The Ohlone shellmound on Brooks Island is approximately 2,000 years old, a deposit of shells, tools, and cultural material left by the indigenous people who used the island for seasonal gathering and processing of shellfish. Shellmounds are among the most important archaeological...

Image: Public domain

Brooks Island Regional Preserve: By Tour Only

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit sfbaywalk from Oakland, Cal, CC BY 2.0. The restriction to guided tours is not arbitrary gatekeeping. Brooks Island's ecology is fragile -- nesting birds, including least terns, are easily disturbed by uncontrolled human access. The shellmound is vulnerable to casual collection and erosion. The naturalist-led tours, of...

Image: sfbaywalk from Oakland, Cal | CC BY 2.0