Mount Diablo has to be one of California’s coolest state parks. As the highest peak in the Bay area, it offers sweeping views from the top. From below, its triangular shape is a prominent feature of the landscape. It’s accessible: you can drive to the peak! But human-powered excursions offer the best of Mount Diablo State Park.
After a couple of inspiring drive-bys (and one drive-up!), we set our sights on Mt. Diablo in fall 2015. Not satisfied with one simple summit, we planned a route that would take us to five! Our quintuple peak extravaganza would allow us to explore this new state park to the max.
True to form, we parked the adventure mobile before dawn the day of our hike – and waited out a brightening of the sky from its comfy confines. We began our exploration of Mount Diablo State Park under indigo skies, in temperatures so fresh we could see our breath.
As we began the approach, birds awoke in the treetops and started to sing. Slowly but surely, the colors of the park emerged. Grass was everywhere, glowing warmly at first light. There were ashy, green-grey leaves on certain trees, and others with surprisingly red wood!
Our first peak of the day was my favorite! Mount Olympia had a little geocaching logbook that I felt too shy to sign – but bold enough to examine! The summit offered us our first views, and thus, was the perfect place to snap and snack!
When we eventually moved on, it was high on the mountain. Although our trail didn’t stick to the ridge, it nonetheless offered stupendous views of the surrounding area. I was really struck by the color of the long grasses as the sun rose overhead: it reminded me of harvest-ready wheat. Easy to see why they call California the land of the golden hills!
North Peak offered an unexpected diversion and contrast to the wildness of Mount Olympia. This, like many peaks we’ve played with in Korea, is a working peak! But unlike Korea, where military use may limit access, this peak had no barriers. We climbed right up to the antennae and stood beneath them. Wouldn’t it be interesting work to know how to build and maintain these mountain-top structures?
Heading back into nature on the trail, we got super lucky with a new animal encounter! Mount Diablo State Park is home to a unique tarantula species – and we ran into one, right on the trail! Apparently our visit coincided with the mating season, so our lad must have been out looking for love!
Shortly thereafter, we reached the crown jewel of our hike – the central peak and summit of Mount Diablo itself. Here, we stopped to laugh over how we’d once driven up in a matter of minutes – and took a break from our hours-long hike for a browse around the museum. Staffed by friendly volunteers and full of interesting information on flora, fauna and land survey history, it’s well-worth a stop!
But ours wasn’t extended, because we still had two more peaks to visit! As we continued, our trail took us out into an open area above a valley. As we hiked down the broad dirt track, a predatory bird swooped low enough to ruffle my hair and cast a deep shadow over my path. Too shocked to capture an image of this would-be attacker, I shrieked and ran for Kent.
Senses soon recovered, I stopped acting like a prey animal and carried on. We reached Eagle Peak without further incident – eagle-related or otherwise! We also took in the views from nearby Twin Peaks as we celebrated a successful, five summit hike in Mount Diablo State Park!
Although there were plenty more trails to play with, that marked the end of the peaks. So down we went, towards the car which we could just make out far below.
Going down can be hard if you just want to stay in the mountains forever. But you can make it fun by making it speedy! We zipped through our descent, but we still took time for every vista point that came up.
Crossing a flat expanse of prairie as we began to close our big loop, we felt eyes watching us from the long grass. Sure enough, there were deer hidden in there! We were transported: suddenly we were on safari, and so we lingered, watching their graceful movements as they sought out shade and fresh food.
This happy hike wound up being the last of our US adventures on that 2015 trip! The following day, we were off to Korea for round three. As hard as it was to say goodbye to California, I was grateful that we’d gotten to do so much great exploration. And our day on Mount Diablo State Park was among the highlights!
Up for a challenge? Climb the five peaks of Mount Diablo State Park! Hiking and running here is terrific! If you’re a cyclist, another great challenge is biking up the mountain! Learn more about your options here – and explore other California state parks here! Happy trails to you!
What are the golden plants on Mt. Diablo?
Hi Don!
There are so many species: deerweed, tarweed, ragwort…
But the primary reason the hills look golden in these images is because we were there in the late fall, when all the nonnative grasses have gone to seed. It’s a dry climate during a particularly dry time of the year.