Mount Diablo Knobcone Point Road

Summary: This is a beautiful ridge hike about 3 miles total in and out on Knobcone Point Road with amazing views. This was a beautiful day, and we even saw a coyote near the Rock City parking lot.

Map: Go to the Mount Diablo State Park website for the location and driving directions. There is a trail map in the park brochure.

Pictures: (To see bigger pics at your own pace, and to read the captions, just click on the slideshow once it's playing. The Picasa album will open in a new tab/window)

Story: It was a beautiful Spring day, and we wanted to get out of the house. Mount Diablo is an easy choice for us, because it is huge and beautiful. This time of year, the hikes are cool, the hills are green, and there are wildflowers. We saw Indian Paintbrush and Baby Blue Eyes.

There is a $10 per car entrance fee, and it includes a brochure with the map. If you want to visit the park without paying, you can park outside of the entrance, and hike in. Just get the trail map from the web. We entered the park via the South Gate, and the best place to park for this hike is at Curry Point (see the link to the brochure under maps above). We parked at Rock City because we didn't know any better. But I'm glad we did because that's where we say a coyote as we were leaving.

The reason for choosing this hike was because we were in the mood for a short hike, without a lot of hills, and the attraction of Balancing Rock. We decided it should be renamed, Rock Outcrop. It is a non-event, and if it weren't signposted you'd never recognize it. But it is a beautiful hike, with amazing views.

A couple of times mountain bikers blasted by us way to fast, and one skidding nearly out of control. It's a consideration. They are allowed on this trail, and none of the mountain bikers we saw observed any courtesies such as calling out their presence, or slowing down as they pass hikers. Keep an eye on your little ones. You can hear the bikes coming. They sound like a car.

Black Diamond Mines Winter Hike

Summary: A friend of mine arranged this hike to Black Diamond Mines and several of us parked at the second lot, climbed the Stewartville Trail and headed via Corcoran Mine Trail to the Prospect Tunnel. You can go into the tunnel for 200 feet, and it gets very dark. We returned via the Stewartville Trail, making a partial loop. It was a beautiful day. We took a lot of pictures.


Map: (Click on the map to interact with it.)

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Pictures: (To see bigger pics at your own pace, and to read the captions, just click on the slideshow once it's playing. The Picasa album will open in a new tab/window)


The Story: This was a beautiful crisp Winter day after weeks of rain. The hills were green and lush. We know in a couple of months, we will come back for the wildflowers. We plan to do a mine tour at the same time as that next visit. You should be warned that if you come soon after a rain, you should expect lots of mud to slog through. Cattle graze freely in this park and they are no trouble, but they trample the trails when they're muddy, and it becomes quite messy.

We hiked up Stewartville Trail, to the Ridge Trail. Along the Ridge Trail there are rocks that stick up out of the grass, and make a great place to take pictures and have lunch. That's where we had our lunch. Then we hiked down Corcoran Mine Trail and made a left at the bottom where it meets up again with the

Stewartville Trail.

To get to the Prospect Tunnel, keep your eye out for a small trail that branches to the left after a rock quarry. It's a short distance to the tunnel. I was expecting it to be cold in there, but it felt very warm in the tunnel. It is dark in there, and there is a low ceiling. If you bring a flashlight, you will be able to see the crystals that grow from the ceiling in the tunnel.

Then we took the Stewartville Trail, which takes us all the way back to the start. At the parking lot, there was a ranger showing people a gopher snake. The kids were allowed to hold it, and it was a great learning experience.

There's a lot to see in this park, and all I can say is check out the pictures then plan your own hike out there.