Completed: April 1, 2023 | Elevation: North Peak – 3,557′, Mount Olympia – 2,946′ | Trail: Summit Trail > North Peak Trail > North Peak Road (Out & Back) | Distance: 5.6 miles
Typically, when we find ourselves hiking in Mount Diablo State Park, it’s from the Mitchell Canyon Staging Area with the goal of getting to the summit as part of a training routine. We follow Eagle Peak Trail to Bald Ridge Trail until we reach the confluence of Prospectors Gap Road, North Peak Road and North Peak Trail. Each time we have walked past the road to North Peak, another 0.8 miles from this junction. That is, until yesterday.
To bag North Peak and Mount Olympia, we started from the Lower Summit Parking Lot, and took the Summit Trail (towards South Gate, not Juniper Trail) for 0.2 miles before it connected with North Peak Trail. Having never walked either trail in this direction, it was at once familiar and strange. The steep sections of North Peak Trail that are covered with loose rock, usually easy to navigate going up, were more slippery going down, and I wished I had remembered to bring my poles. It’s a fun trail, with a mix of steep and flat, exposed and shaded. After 1.0 miles we arrived at the familiar intersection of trails, although this time, we were approaching it from the opposite direction.
We turned left onto North Peak Road, continued past the trail for Mount Olympia, and went up a short but steep rocky section. At the top, we climbed the steps and sat on North Peak, enjoying the views from under the communications tower.
Rested, we retraced our steps and veered onto the trail for Mount Olympia. It’s a narrow trail through areas with denser vegetation that required us to duck. I could hear Chris cursing every time he had to bend down to avoid getting hit in the head. Some portions of the trail were also slightly washed out from the recent rains. As we came out from the wooded section of the trail we could see Mount Olympia’s peak in the distance.
Walking alongside a rocky outcropping, we eventually approached a marker pointing the way to the peak 0.02 miles away. I found it funny that the park service would put up a sign for such a short distance. Standing on the summit, we soaked in the views before turning around. It took us about 3.5 hours to make the round trip.
Back in the car, we leisurely drove down the mountain, stopping to admire the wildflowers, their blooms adding pops of color to the varying green shades of the hills.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
It was good to have finally climbed North Peak, the trail to its peak one that we had walked past many times. While it’s possible to hike all four Nifty Ninety peaks of Mount Diablo in one day, it would have been a really long day and not likely that much fun for us.
With better planning we would have done the Mount Diablo summit as part of this trip rather than having to make the drive up twice.
Additional Info
- The fee from either the North or South Gate Road entrance is $10.