Completed: March 18, 2023 | Elevation: 1,506′ | Trail: Nortonville Trail + Unofficial Trail to Top | Distance: 2.5 miles
Completing the Nifty Ninety peaks has become our singular goal for the year, which means devoting as much weekend time to hiking as possible. The rains, which have often fallen during the weekends, has hampered our ability to knock out the 2-peak minimum per weekend needed to even be within striking distance of achieving the goal, but we’ve had a few serendipitously timed breaks, such as on Friday while we were in Fremont, which allowed us to hike to Garin Peak. With more rain forecast on Sunday, we seized Saturday to head out to the East Bay in order to attack two of the peaks located furthest from us: Rose Hill and Brushy Peak.
We chose Rose Hill first, and made the hour-long drive to Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch. The last time we were there was in May 2015 when we did the Stewartville and Ridge Trail Loop featured in 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area (which, by the way, offers a really well curated list of hikes). I remembered that hike being hot and through a pretty dry landscape. What a difference coming in March after all the wet weather makes! The outside temperature was in the mid-60s, the hills were green, the grass was tall and wildflowers were blooming. It was the perfect day to be out hiking in the East Bay.
There isn’t an official trail, only bootleg ones, to the top of Rose Hill. After paying the $5 entrance fee, we parked in the lot at the end of Somerville Road. It was just after 9:00 A.M. and the lot was getting full. We were all probably taking advantage of the one good day of the weekend to get out and enjoy the sun. As we gathered our things, we saw a group making their way up the hill, which we took to be a good sign regarding the condition of the trail (albeit an unofficial one).
Our hike started at the south end of the parking lot, where we followed a paved pathway before turning right onto Nortonville Trail. We followed it through the cemetery, pausing to look at the grave markers.
Upon exiting the other side, we saw a switchback up to a ridge that we could then follow across to the peak. We picked this route, thinking that where we had seen the other hikers make their approach would be really steep.
As we made our traverse, there were sections of this “trail” that were a bit washed out and we found ourselves leaning into the hill to make sure we didn’t go tumbling down. We were happy when we got to the ridge and could stand up straight with lots of room on both sides of us.
It was easy to see the trail etched into the grass, as it traced a gradual incline to the top of Rose Hill. At the summit we were greeted with 360° views.
We explored a bit longer, following the trail to two other hilltops, before turning back and returning via the trail located on the south side of Rose Hill.
This was the same trail that we had seen the other hikers use, and it was a well-worn path, which turned out to not be as steep as we thought it would have been and probably would have been easier to go up, but we were happy with our loop.
Back at the bottom, we ran into a woman wearing a period costume. We stopped to chat and learned that she was filming a video about her ancestors who were miners that had lived in the nearby coal towns. Since remnants of the areas mining history (coal and sand) were everywhere, we decided to pay a visit to the Greathouse Visitor Center, located in the original opening to the sand mine. As we entered we could see tunnels leading deep into the side of the hill. It would have been fun go on a tour, but unfortunately, they were all sold out. Instead, we perused the exhibits which offered a glimpse into what this place was like over a hundred years ago.
It wasn’t even noon yet and we had completed a hike and also gotten a bit of education. This left us the rest of the day to get to our next hike, Brushy Peak, in Livermore.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
I’m glad we got to see this park during early spring conditions. I’m also happy we spent the extra bit of time to check out the Visitor Center, something we had missed the last time we were here. If we lived closer I’d be tempted to come back and do a tour. There’s definitely a lot more to explore than just trails and nature.