From there, Grizzly Creek maintains a relatively straight heading as it meanders for approximately 2.5 miles north-northwest, passing, through the suburban community of Burton Valley in Lafayette, California.

The Valley Oak savanna that traced Grizzly Creek's course out of the hills provided the natives with their staple food source, acorns, among other resources.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Grizzly Creek was included in the lands used by Mission San José to graze its massive herds of cattle, numbering in the thousands most years.

When California became a territory of the United States in 1850, agricultural development began in and around the Grizzly Creek watershed as waves of settlers came into the region.

[6] High in its watershed Grizzly Creek is in a more natural state, its banks heavily forested with different species of oaks, California Bay and White Alder.

As Grizzly Creek receives input from suburban street drains, its water quality is below standard, and it is not recommended that people drink from it.

As a result of a number of factors, mostly stemming from suburban development, the course and structure of Grizzly Creek has been significantly altered since historic times.