Summit of Mt. Diablo Tempts With Devilishly Panoramic Views

The Bay Area’s Mt. Diablo is one of California’s most prominent peaks. No other significant mountains block the view, so summit panoramas are among the continent’s best, stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to the High Sierra. Rangers at Mt. Diablo State Park say hikers can see more of Earth’s surface from here than from any other peak in North America.

The mighty 3,849-foot mountain has subtler appeal too, a quiet beauty that brings hikers back again and again to explore the park’s 100 miles of trails.

In spring, meadows blossom with buttercups and blue-eyed grass. Other common blooms include Indian paintbrush, clarkia, larkspur and California fuchsia. A keen-eyed wildflower lover might even spot the rare Mt. Diablo globe lily, a squat yellow flower with a lantern-shaped blossom; it grows only on and around the mountain.

The loop hike along Back Creek and Mitchell Canyon trails is a favorite of mine because it’s a fine tour of the mountain’s diverse ecology. The two trails are in canyons that are quite different and allow hikers to explore distinct landscapes: grasslands, chaparral slopes, riparian communities and more. Alder and big-leaf maple grow along Mitchell Creek, beautiful drifts of blue oak and live oak thrive on savannas and gray pine clings to upper slopes.

You can begin a hike from the bottom of either canyon; each trail head has its advantages. Mitchell Canyon might seem the obvious choice because it has restrooms, a visitor center, picnic tables and a large parking lot. The drawback: It doesn’t open until 8 a.m., a disadvantage for bird-watchers who might want to start the day as Mitchell Canyon’s many feathered residents rise.

The hike I’m describing starts at the Back Creek trail head, at the edge of suburbia. It has no facilities but is always open.

Directions to the trail head: For the Mitchell Canyon trail head and visitor center, take Interstate 680 to Walnut Creek and exit onto Ygnacio Valley Road. Drive east 71/2 miles. Turn right (south) onto Clayton Road and drive one mile. At Mitchell Canyon Road, turn right and continue until the road ends at the state park day-use parking area.

For this week’s hike, start at the Back Creek trail head. Take Interstate 680 to Walnut Creek and exit onto Ygnacio Valley Road. Drive east 71/2 miles. Turn right (south) on Clayton Road and drive three miles. Turn right on Regency Drive and go half a mile to its end.

The hike: From the end of Regency Drive, descend an embankment and follow a dirt road to a signed connector trail. This path leads west to Back Creek Trail. At a signed junction, go left (south) onto a fire road heading into the canyon past oak and gray pine.

The trail steepens, the canyon walls narrow and the trail leads up a corridor of sage, toyon and yarrow. Hikers climb past thickets of manzanita and yerba santa. About three miles into the trek, the path bends east, then north. It meets a fire road at Marchio Gap.

Summit-bound climbers will go left onto a fire road. You, however, want to make a loop, descending three-quarters of a mile to Deer Flat--not flat at all but a great place to watch wildlife.

At a signed junction, join Mitchell Canyon Trail for a mile-long, moderately steep descent. The fire road, which parallels Mitchell Creek, flattens as you pass through a mixed woodland. Hikers frequently spot coyotes in the lower reaches of the canyon.

At trail’s end near the Mitchell Canyon Interpretive Center and ranger station, you’ll join a connector trail that briefly parallels Mitchell Canyon Road and leads to a junction with an unsigned path running east-west. Skip the paths leading north toward a residential neighborhood; you want to walk east across the grasslands to a signed junction with Back Creek Trail, which you can follow back north to Regency Drive.

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For more of John McKinney’s tips, visit www.thetrailmaster.com.