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Alien Trees

The state park has cleared many eucalyptuses and a lesser number of Monterey pines, both nonnative, from the island in an effort to prevent their spread and encourage native plants. Stumps beside the trail are evidence of this project.

At a Y-junction you leave the Northridge Trail and turn sharply right to contour across a grassy slope dotted with coyote brush and other native shrubs. The single-track trail switchbacks twice, then ascends west along a ridgeline. Nearing the summit, you pass two sets of picnic tables set on concrete platforms (the platforms are remnants of a Nike missle radar site). The very top of Mt. Livermore has been restored and revegetated, based on historical photographs.

Atop the summit are more picnic tables, from which you can enjoy fine views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pacific Ocean, and some of the Bay Area’s tallest peaks — Mt. St. Helena, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo, and Mt. Tamalpais. From here the trail descends to a vantage point on the west side of the peak and dead-ends. When you have finished enjoying Mt. Livermore, retrace your route to the junction with the Northridge Trail at the previously mentioned Y-junction.