• Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area (map)
  • 1035 Castle Rock Rd
  • Walnut Creek, CA, 94598
  • United States

2026 Nav-X GPS MAP TREK #1 @ Diablo Foothills

Quick Info

  • Date: December 20, 2025 to February 28, 2026

  • Location: Diablo Foothills RP and Shell Ridge Open Space, start at the Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area

  • Courses: 2hr & 4hr GPS Map Trek; MapRun links: 2-hr event; 4-hr event

  • Prices: $17 (2h) & $22 (4h); Juniors 50% off, Club members $4 off; also see below for pre-printed map options.

  • Suggested Race Time: Saturday, Jan. 3, 10am

register

Registrations are open for the first event of Nav-X 2026!

Notes about registration: An Orienteering USA membership is not required: instead, use the Enter Data Manually option instead.

If you are part of a team, everyone on your team (over 12 years of age) must register separately.

INTRODUCTION

  • 48 checkpoints are set on a map in Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Shell Ridge Open Space, near Walnut Creek, CA. Get as many checkpoints as you can in either 2 or 4 hours using the Smartphone app named “MapRun” to record your visit to each checkpoint based on your GPS position. 

  • The competitive window for this event is December 20, 2025 - February 28, 2026. Results during this time period will be included in the official results and accrue Nav-X series points but the course will still be available on MapRun until Dec 1, 2026, after which it will move to the archived courses. Upon registration, you will receive (1) registration confirmation, (2) within 24 hours, a separate email with links to map documents.

  • Pre-printed maps are available by mail for $10. Maps will generally be mailed to arrive in your mailbox within 7 days of registering. For Diablo Foothills, the maps (13"x19" map at 1:12,500 scale) will be mailed starting Dec. 18 (arriving in your mailbox by Dec. 24). The deadline for ordering pre-printed maps is Feb. 21.

  • Our suggested race time is Saturday, Jan. 3 at 10am. We will have a Nav-X team member there to hand out pre-printed maps (13"x19" map at 1:12,500 scale) and control descriptions, if you register for this option ($6) by Dec. 28. Since this is not an official event, there will be no signage so just meet the Nav-X staff member at the start triangle (Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area). The maps will be available from 9:00am - noon.

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES

  • YOU ARE DOING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK - WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INJURIES OR DEATH.  HAZARDS INCLUDE STEEP HILLS, LOOSE ROCKS, CLIFFS, OCCASIONAL DENSE AND SHARP BRUSH, POISON OAK AND TICKS.

  • CELL COVERAGE - Cell phone coverage in the park is spotty.

  • WHISTLE - Due to the self-serve format, you may be completely on your own when you run your course. Be aware of this! You should bring a whistle in case of an emergency.  

  • WATER -  Available in the picnic area near the start. It is recommended to bring all the water you need on the course with you.

  • POISON OAK - There is poison oak in the terrain, but it is basically bare stalks and can be avoided by "going around" or "weaving" a bit. It’s still necessary to take the proper precautions.

  • TICKS - There are ticks, so do check yourself after your run.  After it freezes a few nights, the ticks will be pretty much gone.

EVENT INFORMATION

  • MAPRUN - Please see this page for instructions on how to use the MapRun smartphone app.  It’s important that you load the course while you still have Internet service.  Search for “2026 Nav -X GPS Map Trek Diablo Foothills” and pick the right course (2hr or 4hr). Or you can click one of the links provided above to load the course.

  •  DIRECTIONS TO VENUE: Exit I-680 on Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek and head northeast. After about three miles turn right on Walnut Avenue (not Walnut Blvd., Walnut AVENUE). After about two miles, turn right on Oak Grove Road at the roundabout, then bear right onto Castle Rock Road and follow for one mile. Turn right on Elise Court at the sign for Old Borges Ranch. Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area is on the right after 0.6 miles.

  • PARKING  - Free Parking at Hanna Grove! If the parking area is full, try the next parking lot at Old Borges Ranch just 0.1 mile further. There are also a few spots available on the side of the road.

  • BATHROOMS - There is a full bathroom located next to both parking lots.

  • GEAR RECOMMENDATION - We recommend participants bring the following:

      • Smartphone - goes without saying since we are using an app for timing

      • Compass

      • Long pants or at least gaiters for the tall grass, brush, and poison oak

      • Snacks & Water, especially if you are on the 4-hr course

      • Whistle for safety

    TRASH - While on the course, practice Leave No Trace (LNT) - bring all trash back to the parking area.

    BE DISCREET - We don’t have a permit so try not to be too noticeable when entering or exiting off-trail areas.

MAP & COURSE NOTES

  • VENUE - Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area (Start and Finish) is well maintained and has many picnic sites, with tables and bathrooms nearby.  It's a great place to bring family while you are running your course. Footing is good, although slipperiness may depend on recent rainfall, so try to choose a dry patch for your run.  Coyotes, deer, squirrels and birds are abundant and healthy.

  • PROHIBITED AREAS: Residences, maintenance yards, etc. Observe the restricted areas (hashed purple lines on map).

  • MAP - Existing BAOC map which contains orienteering-level detail such as boulders, knolls, rootstocks, single trees, etc. The map is up to date but there are a number of unmapped fences and animal trails. Dark green is typically Chaparral or Manzanita and should be avoided. Medium and Light green areas are difficult to penetrate, or are nasty - you should minimize going through it. The white areas are most often oak forest and are definitely nice and easy to run through, as are the yellow, open grassland areas.

  • TERRAIN - The terrain is hilly, with gorgeous Live Oak deciduous forests, beautiful hidden meadows, scenic rocky promontories and a well developed network of trails. The ground is hard underfoot, unless it rains beforehand.  Poison Oak is minimal and avoidable.  There is abundant wildlife - birds, deer, coyote, ground squirrels, and many more.The vegetation consists mostly of open grassland, oak forest, and manzanita areas. Pay attention to contours - slopes can be steep!  Most streams run in deep ditches, but can be readily crossed where the contours are further apart.

  • COURSE - The course was designed by Gavin Wyatt-Mair. There are 48 checkpoints varying in point value from 30 to 100 points with a total possible point total of 2990. The approximate straight-line distance to get them all is about 19 km. Generally, higher value checkpoints are farther from the start, harder to find, or some combination of both.

  • MARKERS - All checkpoints have been streamered with orange flagging tape, and a few with neon green flagging tape. Streamers sometimes get removed by humans (already saw this once) or get chewed by animals - so if MapRun beeps at a checkpoint but you see no streamer, don't worry - just carry on.  Conversely, if you get to a streamer and MapRun does not beep, you can get it fixed by following the steps in the instruction document. The start/finish does not have flagging because it is in a public place.

  • START - The Start is shown on your map as a triangle and is on a trail junction just south of the parking area at Patrick Hanna Grove Picnic Area, just far enough from the parking area so that you don’t accidentally trigger it when you park. Do not approach the Start until you are ready to go! MapRun will start you automatically and alert you by beeping once you are within ~15 meters of the Start. 

  • FINISH - the Finish is marked on your map with a double circle and is located just west of the parking lot. When you are within ~15 meters of the Finish, MapRun will register a finish. Do not approach the Finish until you are ready to end your course. (Depending on the device, it may be possible to continue the course after this, for example if you approached the finish spot by accident. However, this might not work for you, so we recommend you don’t go near the finish until you are done.) If you accidentally Finish, you can save your route, and then Start again to complete your run and then submit both tracks to get credit. Remember also to upload your result after you finish (if it doesn’t happen automatically).

  • SCORING:  Just like our other events, each checkpoint has a point value reflecting the difficulty (higher point value for tougher checkpoints).  The point value is the “10 part” of the checkpoint code.  Examples:  33 = 30 points, 50 = 50 points, 88 = 80 points, etc. Late penalty is 10 points per minute or any part of a minute (1:01 late = -20 pts).

  • MAP PRINTING - We are providing a Zip file with the map documents in PDF format within 24 hrs of registration. The text checkpoint descriptions are on the map. You will need to print your own maps or choose one of the 2 pre-printed map options. For $10, you can have a map mailed to your address (allow 7 days for maps to arrive); this option is available until Feb. 21 on the registration page. For $6, you can pick up a map at the in-person meetup on Saturday, Jan. 3 from 9am-noon; this option is available until Dec. 28.