Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Northern California. Exploring Mountains, Valleys, and Seashore онлайн

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Additional Information ebparks.org/parks/morgan

Highlight Viewpoint for much of Northern California

Distance 0.7 mile

Total Elevation Gain/Loss 100'/100'

Hiking Time 1 hour

Recommended Maps Mount Diablo, Los Vaqueros, and Surrounding Parks by Save Mount Diablo, USGS 7.5-min. Clayton

Best Times After storms

Agency Mount Diablo State Park

DOMINATING THE landscape, Mount Diablo offers vistas from the Sierra Nevada to the Golden Gate in an all-encompassing sweep of Northern California. There is no other view like it.

Surrounded by encroaching development and connected to no greater mountain range, Mount Diablo is an oasis of both plant and animal life. Besides a variety of wildlife—and particularly birdlife—several plant species occur on the mountain that can be found nowhere else. Due to variations in elevation and precipitation, a variety of ecosystems are found here, and several can be explored on this short hike.

The Hike follows the Mary Bowerman Trail, an easy loop around the summit of Mount Diablo (3,849') offering spectacular vistas in every compass direction. An interpretive brochure and informative signs enhance the experience. The optimal time to come is immediately following a spring or winter storm when the air is cleanest, the views most far-reaching, and the landscape carpeted a vibrant green. Even then, a good breeze is necessary to blow away all lingering and newly forming clouds, which can hover around the mountain. Strong easterly winds during the spring can also push the haze away. While the hike is open year-round, haze and heat are thick throughout summer and fall. Water is available at the trailhead.