Is there internet at Dick Collins Firetrails 50?
A rugged 50-mile trail run from Castro Valley into the East Bay hills, with deep-canyon aid stations that live in the dead zones.
Where it is
Lake Chabot to Redwood Regional, Castro ValleyCoverage shading is an illustrative estimate of the connectivity conditions at this venue, not measured carrier data.
The Firetrails 50 starts near Lake Chabot and climbs through the ridgeline parks between Castro Valley and Oakland. On the high fire roads you can often see the whole bay — and get a decent signal.
The aid stations that keep the race safe, however, are frequently tucked into shaded canyon bottoms where the signal simply does not reach.
Why the signal struggles here
This stretch of the East Bay hills is all steep ridges and deep drainages. Coverage is a coin flip that depends entirely on whether you have line of sight to a ridgeline tower, and canyon-bottom aid stations usually do not.
Race officials running a point like a remote aid station need to report runner numbers, flag a medical issue, or confirm a cutoff — and doing that over a signal that vanishes behind the next ridge is exactly where a dedicated connection earns its keep.
Carrier outlook at the site
- Verizon
- Congested / weak
- Strong on ridges, dead in canyons
- AT&T
- Congested / weak
- Unreliable at canyon aid stations
- T-Mobile
- Congested / weak
- Spotty off the fire roads
Rent a Starlink for Dick Collins Firetrails 50
Skip the maxed-out towers. Bay Area Starlink Rentals rents fully equipped Starlink kits with unlimited data — pick one up in Oakland before you head out and keep your whole crew connected.
Check availability