What Else Will Interest Me?
Park Questions?
Greathouse Visitor Center is located
in an underground room excavated
by the silica-sand miners in the mid1920s. Displays interpret the area’s
mining, cultural, and geologic history.
General park information, maps,
brochures, and souvenirs are also
available. The visitor center is open
from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends
and some holidays from March through
November. Admission is free and
all ages are welcome.
Black Diamond Mines Regional
Preserve is over 6,000 acres of land
and contains three historic townsites:
Nortonville, Somersville, and
Stewartville. In addition to Hazel-Atlas
Mine, the park contains historic Rose
Hill Cemetery, several mine openings
to explore, and 65 miles of trails.
Park Naturalists conduct a variety
of programs relating to the park’s
natural and historic resources.
Call or email a Park District naturalist
at one of the Visitor Centers below.
Dogs
Dogs are welcome in Greathouse
Visitor Center but must be on a leash.
Dogs are not allowed on mine tours.
BDM webpage
East Bay Regional
Park District Visitor Centers
Ardenwood Historic Farm......................... Fremont
510-544-2797, awvisit@ebparks.org
Big Break Visitor Center at the Delta
Big Break Regional Shoreline......................Oakley
510-544-3050, bigbreakvisit@ebparks.org
Coyote Hills Visitor Center
Coyote Hills Regional Park........................ Fremont
510-544-3220, chvisit@ebparks.org
Crab Cove Visitor Center
Crab Cove.........................................................Alameda
510-544-3187, ccove@ebparks.org
Rocky Ridge Visitor Center
Del Valle Regional Park............................Livermore
510-544-3249, www.ebparks.org/parks/del_valle
Garin Barn Visitor Center/Dry Creek Garden
Garin Regional Park.................................... Hayward
510-544-3220, www.nativeplants.org
Old Green Barn Visitor Center
Sunol-Ohlone Regional Wilderness.............Sunol
510-544-3249, svisit@ebparks.org
Tilden Regional Park–Botanic Garden
Berkeley..........510-544-3169, www.nativeplants.org
Brochure text: Traci Parent
Environmental Education Center/Little Farm
Tilden Nature Area.......................................Berkeley
510-544-2233, tnarea@ebparks.org
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East Bay Regional Park District
2950 Peralta Oaks Court
P.O. Box 5381
Oakland, CA 94605-0381
1-888-EBPARKS; Dial 711 for
Telecommunications Relay Service
www.ebparks.org
PROCES
S
Take HWY 4 to the Somersville Road
exit in Antioch. Drive south on
Somersville Road (into the hills) to
the parking lot at the end of the road.
Po
st
Directions
Mine
Tours
Greathouse and Sidney Flat Visitor Centers
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve..Antioch
510-544-2750, bdvisit@ebparks.org
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The mine crew identified in this photograph
at the Hazel-Atlas upper workings include
Earl Bell, powder man, first row, left;
Art Latham, mine foreman, first row, right;
George Dossey, miner, second row, left; and
Oscar Peterson, sand mill foreman, second row,
right. The others are unidentified, circa 1930s.
Stands of Coulter pine and black sage
are at the northernmost limit of their
distribution and several rare and/or
endangered plant species have been
found among the valley grassland,
oak woodland, and chaparral
plant communities.
Black Diamond Mines
Regional Preserve
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Dorothy Greathouse Collection, EBRPD
Greathouse Visitor Center
Hazel Atlas Mine
Rick Yarborough Collection, EBRPD
When Can I Visit?
From the mid 1850s to the early 1900s,
a dozen mines supplied nearly four
million tons of coal to the rapidly
expanding urban and industrial centers
of the San Francisco Bay Area. Rising
production costs and the advent of oil
as an energy source eventually ended
production and turned five mining
communities into ghost towns. Later,
from the 1920s through the late 1940s,
silica-rich sand was mined by the HazelAtlas Glass Company for the production
of glass products and by the Roberts
Sand Company for use in the Columbia
Steel foundry. The museum and visitor
center in Hazel-Atlas Mine help
preserve the history of these
important mining operations.
Weekend tours are available for the
general public from March through
November. Reservations are highly
recommended. Weekday programs
are available for organizations and
school groups (minimum 10 participants).
Reservations are required. Tickets for
the noon and 3 p.m. first-come/firstserved mine tours can be purchased
on Saturdays and Sundays from
March–November at Greathouse
Visitor Center.
Hazel-Atlas Mine
A 950-foot section of Hazel-Atlas Mine
has been restored to appear as it did
when the mine was active. On a guided
walk, visitors see mining methods,
equipment, and tools typical of the
1940s. Plant and animal fossils in the
tunnel walls provide evidence of the
area’s climate and appearance 50 million
years ago when the sand and coal
deposits were formed.
Greathouse Portal sand bunker, circa 1948
Dorothy Greathouse Collection, EBRPD
Black Diamond Mines Regional
Preserve was the site of California’s
most productive coal field and was
a major source of glass-making and
foundry sands. The Hazel-Atlas silica
sand mine has been restored as a
mining museum and visitor center.
Mining History
Sand bunker, Hazel-Atlas Mine, circa 1933
How Do I Make Reservations?
Dorothy Greathouse Collection, EBRPD
Welcome to
Black Diamond Mines
Regional Preserve
Weekend programs can be arranged
with VISA or MasterCard by calling:
1-888-EBPARKS or by visiting
www.ebparksonline.org
Weekday programs can be arranged
by calling 510-544-2750.
Are There Age Restrictions?
For safety reasons, children under
7 years old are not permitted
on the mine tour.
How Much Does It Cost?
Hazel-Atlas Mine employees, circa 1933.
Left to right are Jack Swearengen, chemist;
R. Marvin Greathouse, original mine owner;
Bob Bennett, plant manager for Hazel-Atlas
in Oakland; and Earl Ramsey, miner.
Tours cost $5 per person and last
approximately 90 minutes. A parking fee
may be charged. Fees subject to change.
What Should I Wear?
Wear clothing suitable for underground temperatures of 56°F. Hard
hats and flashlights will be provided.
