Big Break Regional Shoreline


Big Break Regional Shoreline is a regional park in Oakley, Contra Costa County, northern California. It is a part of the East Bay Regional Park District system.

Delta Visitor Center

The park features an $11 million, 5,000-square-foot Delta Visitor Center, which operates as a natural history museum, science laboratory, and staging area for paddling and hiking trips along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The new visitor center opened in October 2012.
The center includes a interactive map of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta that shows visitors how water flows through the region. A 30-by-50 model of the delta is also located at the park, as well as restored wetlands.

Park name

The park is named for a break in the levee system that flooded an asparagus farm between the San Joaquin River and Dutch Slough in 1928. The break formed a small bay along the river, near the area where fresh water from the river mixes with salt water from San Francisco Bay.

Wildlife

According to the East Bay Regional Parks District, Big Break Regional Shoreline provides habitat for at least 70 species of birds and several species of mammals. They include:
The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset. The Visitor Center is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10am to 4pm. The park is at 69 Big Break Road in Oakley. It can be reached by private vehicles from Main Street, and there is no fee for parking or admission. The park is generally wheelchair accessible.
Dogs are permitted, except in marsh and wetland habitats in the park.