Completed: March 8, 2023 | Elevation: 640′ | Trail: Mount Wanda and John Muir Nature Trail Loop | Distance: 2.9 miles
Martinez, without traffic, is about 30-40 minutes by car from us, which is how we found ourselves doing the Mount Wanda hike one weekday afternoon. Not sure how crowded it gets on a weekend, but at 2:40 in the afternoon, the parking lot located at the junction of Alhambra Avenue and Franklin Canyon Road was pretty empty.
Signs pointed the way to the trailhead, a few hundred feet to the right of the lot and up a short flight of steps.
We walked up the multi-use trail, which was still muddy in patches from the recent rains. It climbed steadily, but gradually, for the first half mile. Mount Diablo periodically made an appearance, its top dusted with snow. As we approached the crest, there was a picnic area with a sign board that marked the turn off for the John Muir Nature Trail.
We stayed straight on the trail, continuing up the hill punctuated with beautiful, mature oak trees.
Eventually we veered left at an intersection, and then up a short spur to Mount Helen, whose summit is marked by a bench and informational sign. We had sweeping views from Mount Diablo to the Carquinez Strait.
From here we retraced our steps to the intersection and turned left to join up with the other end of the John Muir Trail, which winds around the flank of Mount Wanda. We hiked to the top, but it’s less scenic than neighboring Mount Helen. Back on the trail, we meandered through a forest of oak trees, descended into a small ravine, crossed a bridge, and then eventually came back out onto the fire road.
Since we were already in the area, we decided to make a quick visit to John Muir’s house located less than half a mile down the road. The park was closing in about 20 minutes which didn’t leave us much time. We entered the historic house and did a whirlwind tour through the three stories: we saw his desk, which is one of the few original pieces remaining in the home, and rang the bell located above the attic. It’s too bad we didn’t have more time to explore the house and grounds of the man who gave us Yosemite National Park.
At the Visitor Center, I confirmed with the ranger that the summit of Mount Wanda was in fact, the one with the bench on it. The AllTrails map shows Mount Wanda as Mount Helen and a few other descriptions I had read on the internet didn’t make it very clear as to which is which. However, I’ll take the ranger’s word for it (and we had hiked to the top of Mount Helen should it turn out that he was wrong).
While we had been visiting the house, the ranger had looked up Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve and informed us that it didn’t close until 10:00 P.M. Earlier I had told him we were attempting to do the Nifty Ninety and wanted to do Sibley, but given the late hour (it was close to 5:00 P.M.), didn’t think we’d be able to make it. Armed with this new information, we decided to go for it. We thanked the ranger and were off to our next Nifty Ninety: Round Top.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
We don’t get over to this part of the Bay Area that often, and if we do, it’s more likely that we’re passing through to get somewhere else. If it wasn’t for the Nifty Ninety, I probably would never have heard of this mountain or historic site.
This was a great winter hike; the hills were a lush green and the temperature was perfectly cool. Later in spring, once the flowers bloom, might be even better. Seeing John Muir’s home was an added treat.
Ideally we would have combined this hike with the three peaks in Briones Regional Park which is nearby, and even closer than Sibley.
Additional Info
- The hike to the summit of Mount Wanda can easily be done as a shorter out and back via the main multi-use trail.
- It’s free, and definitely worth a visit, to the John Muir Historic Site, which is open from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.,