Exploring the Bay Area: Walnut Creek

Just 30 minutes away from San Francisco on BART, sits Walnut Creek. A pretty suburban area located east of San Francisco, Walnut Creek boasts a population of about 65,000 and also serves as the business and entertainment hub for the local area. Nestled at the foot of Mt Diablo, Walnut Creek boasts beautiful open spaces, sensible urban planning and a vast array of shopping and dining options. The city offers a free shuttle between the BART station and the downtown core which makes things accessible for those without a car.

Sam, a friend of mine, met me at the BART station and gave me a tour of the downtown area. His insightful knowledge about the area and upcoming developments to the city were very interesting and I found the tour to be quite pleasant and rather enjoyable. We stopped for delicious lunch and dined on one of the many open air patios that dot the urban core.

After lunch, Sam treated me to a little career shadowing and took me to check out a vacant lot in the city that will soon be developed. After doing a quick inspection of the area, I gave him my opinion and I started to wonder if a career in urban planning was in the cards for me?

I returned to San Francisco later that afternoon happy to have explored a new part of the Bay Area. If you're ever in the area, I suggest stopping by Walnut Creek to enjoy its beautiful urban center and easily accessible shops and restaurants.


Just making sure I got off at the correct BART stop.


There really is a creek in Walnut Creek!


Where Sam works.


Sam took me to a site inspection. I suggested to him that this plot of land could be better used.