Big City Buzz with Mountain Views
Mt. Diablo, Glam restaurants, power shopping, edgy art, cool theater and symphonic music – all in a small town jewelsetting ringed by mountain views that deliver on their promise of outdoor recreational opportunities. Yes, you can have it all. And it’s all in Walnut Creek.
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 16 miles east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek serves as a vibrant hub for its neighboring cities because of its location at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose (I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland (SR-24), and its accessibility by BART. Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, and Concord.
Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any other community in the state of California. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7 million bond measure to acquire and protect open space: the city purchased 1,800 acres (730 ha) of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, and Sugarloaf Open Space.
The East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both of which are located in Walnut Creek.