Contra Costa County
Taking its name from the Spanish for “opposite shore,” Contra Costa County sits due east from San Francisco along the shores of San Francisco Bay. The name, which dates to Mexican land grant days of the 1830s reflects the heritage of Spanish colonization, which can still be found in place names such as Mt. Diablo, which dominates the county landscape at 3,849 feet above sea level. Today Contra Costa County is home to more than a million people, most of whom live in the affluent suburbs of Concord, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, and Walnut Creek. The county is famed for its mild Mediterranean climate, its wealth of sunny open spaces served by biking, hiking, and equestrian trails, and its easy access to San Francisco via the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Interstate Highways.