Concord: Trails, Gardens and History

Multi-use trails, a garden park, and a historic plaza reveal very different sides of Concord. If you enjoy spending time outdoors, you can explore the regional trails; if you’re interested in local history, Todos Santos Plaza and the Francisco Galindo Home offer specific points of interest. A farmers market and a memorial site with scheduled guided tours are also among the area’s distinctive visitor experiences. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to focus on outdoor activity, gardens, local history, or a visit that needs to be planned for a specific time.

Gardens and Trails

Markham Nature Park and Arboretum is a 17-acre park near the center of Concord. It includes an International Garden with plants from similar climate zones and an active Community Garden. Edible plants and pollinator plants are grown there year-round. If you’d like to focus on nature and garden culture during your trip, the park offers specific topics to explore while you’re there.

For a longer outdoor excursion, consider the Iron Horse Regional Trail. This 32-mile multi-use trail runs between Concord and Pleasanton. The paved trail begins in Concord near Highway 4. It is suitable for cyclists, hikers, joggers, and runners. Its total length gives you a useful reference for planning; you can also use Concord as a starting point without making the entire trail part of your visit.

Another option is the Contra Costa Canal Regional Trail. This paved multi-use trail connects Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, and Concord. It is suitable for horseback riders, cyclists, hikers, joggers, and runners, and is wheelchair accessible. The listed activities and accessibility offer useful guidance if you’re considering an outing along this trail. If you’re planning a trip with a group whose members have different interests, you can use the activities to decide whether the Canal Trail or the Iron Horse Trail better suits your plans.

Plaza, Market, and Local History

Todos Santos Plaza is a historic 2.5-acre gathering place in the center of Concord. It was dedicated in 1869 by founders Pacheco and Galindo. A self-guided Historical Walking Tour takes you through historic Todos Santos Plaza, allowing you to explore at your own pace. The Francisco Galindo Home offers another connection to local history: the house was built in 1856 for Don Francisco Galindo and his wife, Maria Dolores Manuela (Pacheco) Galindo. These historic places are useful points of reference for travelers who want to include Concord’s history alongside outdoor activities.

Concord’s Farmers Market takes place at Todos Santos Plaza year-round on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. From June through September, evening hours are also available there on Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Also from June through September, Music and Market takes place at the plaza every Thursday evening. When planning your day, check which of these times fits your visit: the Tuesday farmers market and the additional Thursday events take place at different times.

Visiting and Trip Planning

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in Concord marks the site of the Port Chicago explosion, the worst disaster on U.S. soil during World War II. The five-acre memorial site is located within Military Ocean Terminal Concord in California. Public access is available as part of a guided tour, which must be reserved two weeks in advance. Tours begin at 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays and last 1.5 hours. Unlike a self-guided walk around the plaza, a visit here requires a reserved tour at a specific start time.

Getting to Todos Santos Plaza is straightforward: it’s an eight-minute walk from Concord BART Station, directly along Grant Street. If you’re planning to visit the plaza, the farmers market, or the Historical Walking Tour, this walking route is useful for finding your way around downtown. For other priorities, the trails, garden park, or tour that requires a reservation may be the deciding factors.

If you’d like to discover more places, you can also find Martinez, Bethel Island, Lafayette, Danville, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood and El Cerrito here.

For the broader travel overview: Contra Costa.