Rock City at Mount Diablo

Footholds carved into the soft sandstone after repeated use

Mount Diablo is an incredible state park in the east bay. The State Park service has the following write-up about the mountain on their website:

At the eastern fringe of the San Francisco Bay Region, Mount Diablo, elevation 3,849 feet, stands alone on the edge of California’s great Central Valley. At this point, the Coast Range consists only of low hills, none high enough to block the view from the upper slopes of the mountain. As a result, the view is spectacular… you can look to the west, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Farallon Islands; southeast to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton at 4,213 feet elevation; south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3,791 feet elevation; north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range at 4,344 feet, and still farther north to Mount Lassen in the Cascades at 10,466 feet. North and east of Mount Diablo, the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta. To the east beyond California’s great Central Valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. With binoculars, you may even be able to pick out Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.  

My daughter and I did go to the summit, but it was too hazy to see the views described above (which are probably most visable on a clear winter day after a rain storm). Instead, we spent the majority of our time at the fabulous "Rock City" near the southern gates of the park. These are large outcroppings of ancient sandstone that have been carved into fabulous shaped by wind erosion and human use (including Miwok grinding stones). The aptly named "Trail Through Time" takes you on a great tour of these awesome rocks.

Overview of the park

Detail of Rock City

We were lucky to be there on a mild day in early summer. It can get quite hot at Mount Diablo! I can't wait to return next spring. The wildflowers were amazing in mid-June so they must be off the hook in April and May. There are lots of shady places to have a picnic in Rock City--a great place to bring kids!