Kick Off New Year With Hike Around Majestic Mount Diablo

By Trisha Clayton:

Kick off 2016 with a free, family-friendly hike around Mount Diablo hosted by The Mount Diablo Interpretive Association (MDIA)!

New Year’s Day Around the Mountain Hike

Friday, January 1, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Start the New Year with a fairly strenuous hike around Mount Diablo!

Hikers begin at the parking lot immediately west of the Oak Knoll picnic area, cross the Summit Road and head uphill on the Juniper Trail to Deer Flat Road. The hike winds around to the pass on Moses Rock Ridge and then heads down to Deer Flat. From there, the hike continues to Murchio Gap and picks up the Bald Ridge Trail to get to Prospectors Gap. The North Peak Trail takes hikers to Devil’s Elbow and dramatic views of the burn area from the 2013 fire. Hikers use the Summit Trail to return to Oak Knoll. This is a seven-mile loop with about 2,600 feet of total gain. Steady pace with lunch break.

Dress in layers and bring a lunch or snacks and liquids. Be prepared for mud, ticks and poison oak. Rain cancels.

Meet: Oak Knoll picnic area parking lot on Summit Road, after the junction of North Gate and South Gate Road and before Juniper Campground. Fee: $10:00 per car park entrance fee.

For more Devil Mountain hikes: purchase MDIA’s newly released Hiker’s Guide to Mount Diablo State Park. Fee: $6 per car; exact change only. Meet at Mitchell Canyon Trailhead, 96 Mitchell Canyon Road.

For more info on reservations visit web site here.

Photo credit: Megan Madahar

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