Fire
Interpretive Trail,
Mount Diablo State Park,
California State Parks,
Contra Costa County
In brief:
0.7 mile loop hike around the summit of Mount Diablo, with excellent views the
entire way.
Getting there:
From Interstate 680 in Contra Costa County, exit Diablo Road (exit 39). Follow
the green parks signs: drive east on Diablo Road (turn right at the junction with
El Cerro), then turn left at the (stop sign) junction with Blackhawk onto South
Gate Road. Drive carefully uphill on this narrow road (watch out for bicyclists)
about 7 miles to a stop sign, then turn right onto Summit Road. Continue to the
summit, about 4 more miles. Just before the road splits into two one-way segments,
park in a small dirt area on the right (or park in the large lot back downhill
a few yards).
Trailhead details:
A few designated handicapped parking spots across from the start of the trail,
and the first 0.18 mile of the trail is suitable for wheelchairs. Lots more parking
just downhill in a big paved lot. $6 entrance fee. Restrooms, pay phone, and maps
a little further uphill at the Summit Visitor Center (a Fire Interpretive Trail
brochure is usually available at the start of the trail). Gas, restaurants, and
stores in the town of Danville, near the 680 exit on Diablo Road. There is no
direct public transportation to the park. Note: carsick alert! If you or anyone
in your vehicle is prone to carsickness, drive very slowly (no more than 20 mph)
on the park roads. As there is no optional route to the top, slow smooth cornering
may help avoid carsickness.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, and restaurants back near I-680 in Danville. The park has group campgrounds
and individual campsites. Visit MDIA's
website for more info.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 0.7 mile loop hike is very easy. The entire trail is almost
completely level, with just minor elevation changes.
Rules:
No bikes or dogs. Horses are technically permitted, but you will probably not
encounter any on this trail. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 45 minutes before
sunset.
The Official Story:
CSP's
Mount Diablo page
Mount Diablo Ranger Station 925-837-6129
Map/book choices:
• Use AAA's San Ramon Valley map to get there.
• Download the park
map pdf from CSP's website.
• 
This hike is described
and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup,
that's me, the creator of this website). Order
this book from Amazon.com.
• Mount Diablo (& Surrounding Parks) map, published by Mount
Diablo Interpretive Association, is invaluable (order at http://www.mdia.org).
• Mount Diablo Interpretive
Association offers many featured hikes and events that explore Mount Diablo.
You can also order maps and books through them.
• Save Mount Diablo
is a good source of current events on the mountain, including the progress of
preservation campaigns.
• Trails
of the Diablo Valley describes many Diablo trails.
• David Weintraub's East Bay Trails features descriptions of several
Diablo hikes, with accompanying maps (order
this book from Amazon.com).
Fire Interpretive
Trail in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
• View 43 photos from this
hike.
If you've never been to Mount Diablo, the summit, 
and
nearby Fire Interpretive Trail are great places to start. At the Summit Museum
and Store, you can view some educational exhibits, pick up maps, free brochures
with suggested hikes, and the pamphlet that accompanies the Fire Interpretive
Trail. Then head downhill about 500 feet from the summit parking lot to the Fire
Interpretive Trail. The 0.7 mile path (the first portion of which is paved and
wheelchair accessible) is a self-guided tour that informs visitors about geology
and plants, all the while offering basically the same astounding views as the
summit, without the crowds. After completing the short loop, if you're inspired
and immediately ready for more hiking, you can head out from the summit trailhead
to North Peak, a close to 5 mile out-and-back trek, or head back downhill in your
car to one of the other trailheads off Summit Road and explore some different
perspectives of the mountain.
Summer is my least favorite time of year to visit
Diablo. Take it from me, July is not the time to hike the 9 mile loop from Mitchell
Canyon to the summit and then back down again. 
Too
hot and dry! Diablo's famously expansive views are diminished during smoggy summer
days, while clear winter days afford the best vistas, as well as comfortable hiking.
Spring and autumn possess their own charms, most notably wildflowers in spring
(but also muddy trails), and deciduous foliage (primarily maples, black oaks,
and poison oak), fewer visitors, and frolicking tarantulas looking for love in
autumn.
For the featured hike, start at the Fire Interpretive
Trailhead: if you've driven to the the summit, get back in your car and drive
back downhill to where the two one way sections of the road rejoin. There are
a few spaces on the left side, and if those are full, keep going a little further
to the huge flat parking lot on the left. Walk back across the street from
the small parking area, and look for the signed start of the trail. Canyon
live and interior live oaks canopy the flat paved path. Post two serves to identify
poison oak, but if you're visiting in autumn and winter, all you'll see is a dead
looking bunch of branches. Beware,
though, for this leafless foliage still exudes itchy oils. Fire Interpretive Trail
steps out into rocky chaparral. With the help of the interpretive pamphlet, you
can learn about the rocks of the mountain: greenstone, greywacke, and chert. A
long look downhill to the left reveals a quarry where diabase is mined. Along
the sides of the trail look for creambush, clematis, California bay, and some
gray pine. A wooden platform with benches makes a fine rest stop, where you can
check the keys to distant and nearby land features. On a hazy day, it's hard to
believe that clear weather permits occasional glimpses of Mount St. Helena (66
miles away), Snow Mountain (112 miles), Lassen Peak (181 miles), and even the
Sierra Nevada. Unless the weather is completely uncooperative, you should be able
to identify Mitchell Canyon and Suisun Bay. Just past the end of the wooden platform,
at 0.19 mile, the paved part of Fire Interpretive Trail ends (wheelchair users
and
folks with strollers, this is your turnaround point).
While enjoying the unobstructed view of
North Peak, keep an eye open for soaring hawks. Fire Interpretive Trail enters
a dry area dominated by chaparral plants. The rocky, level, and narrow trail is
lined with cercocarpus, buckbrush, pine, creambush, bay, and shrub-like interior
and canyon live oaks. Although the pamphlet urges you to look for signs of the
1977 fire, it takes an experienced eye to discern any change in the vegetation.
As the trail sweeps through a bare stretch, the red-tinged monolith known as Devil's
Pulpit looms ahead. Fire Interpretive Trail curves to the right, at 0.38 mile,
revealing a nice view uphill to the summit. Grassland dominates the landscape,
and you may see at least one or two wildflowers just about any time of the year,
sprinkled throughout the grass. Native juniper shrubs hunker close to the ground
here and there. The views of the southern section of the park are stunning. Chamise
and yerba santa thrive on the rocky slopes and near the end of the trail oaks,
and poison oak crowd the path. A blue elderberry tree stands guard as the trail
empties out into the small parking area. If you are visiting in late summer or
autumn and haven't been lucky enough to encounter a tarantula on the trails, keep
a lookout on the drive back downhill. They sometimes can be spotted crossing Summit
Road (here's a photo).
Total distance: 0.67 mile
Last hiked: Monday, September 16, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page.
and
nearby Fire Interpretive Trail are great places to start. At the Summit Museum
and Store, you can view some educational exhibits, pick up maps, free brochures
with suggested hikes, and the pamphlet that accompanies the Fire Interpretive
Trail. Then head downhill about 500 feet from the summit parking lot to the Fire
Interpretive Trail. The 0.7 mile path (the first portion of which is paved and
wheelchair accessible) is a self-guided tour that informs visitors about geology
and plants, all the while offering basically the same astounding views as the
summit, without the crowds. After completing the short loop, if you're inspired
and immediately ready for more hiking, you can head out from the summit trailhead
to North Peak, a close to 5 mile out-and-back trek, or head back downhill in your
car to one of the other trailheads off Summit Road and explore some different
perspectives of the mountain. 
Too
hot and dry! Diablo's famously expansive views are diminished during smoggy summer
days, while clear winter days afford the best vistas, as well as comfortable hiking.
Spring and autumn possess their own charms, most notably wildflowers in spring
(but also muddy trails), and deciduous foliage (primarily maples, black oaks,
and poison oak), fewer visitors, and frolicking tarantulas looking for love in
autumn. 
though, for this leafless foliage still exudes itchy oils. Fire Interpretive Trail
steps out into rocky chaparral. With the help of the interpretive pamphlet, you
can learn about the rocks of the mountain: greenstone, greywacke, and chert. A
long look downhill to the left reveals a quarry where diabase is mined. Along
the sides of the trail look for creambush, clematis, California bay, and some
gray pine. A wooden platform with benches makes a fine rest stop, where you can
check the keys to distant and nearby land features. On a hazy day, it's hard to
believe that clear weather permits occasional glimpses of Mount St. Helena (66
miles away), Snow Mountain (112 miles), Lassen Peak (181 miles), and even the
Sierra Nevada. Unless the weather is completely uncooperative, you should be able
to identify Mitchell Canyon and Suisun Bay. Just past the end of the wooden platform,
at 0.19 mile, the paved part of Fire Interpretive Trail ends (wheelchair users
and
folks with strollers, this is your turnaround point). 