Mount Diablo's Grand Loop

Where will this adventure take you? Who's coming along? How long will it take? Get the answers in this introductory audio segment.

At this stop, you'll learn the survival secrets of two of the mountain's signature trees--junipers and gray pines--and discover why the fragrant bay laurel is a friend to backpackers.

The next part of the trail is all about views and wildflowers, especially in the spring.

Where Burma Road joins the trail down to Deer Flat, you can almost see forever. It's also a great place to learn about the mountain's leafy north side.

With its valley oaks and gray pines, Deer Flat is an oasis for birds.

That last hill was steep, no? Catch your breath here and learn about the Murchio family, the flashy flower possibilities, and the "promiscuous" manzanita.

When you reach a high point on Bald Ridge, check out the views to the north. Then learn about Leander Ransom and his ill-fated attempt to plant a flagpole on top of the mountain in 1851.

When you get moving again, keep an eye out for wildflowers. In spring and early summer, some interesting ones lie ahead!

Now you're almost two-thirds of the way around the loop. Take a breather and learn about the mountain's mining history.

When you're finished, head out on the North Peak Trail (not the fire road). Look for a signpost that says "to summit trail, 1.02." It's the left fork of the two trails that head south.

As you look east toward the Sierra Nevada, listen to what 19th-century explorer William Brewer saw as he gazed out over the same landscape.

Remarkably, in a metropolitan area with some 7 million people, the land to the east and south of Diablo is still vast and open. Save Mount Diablo's Seth Adams talks about successfully reintroducing peregrine falcons here in the 1980s, and how he hopes California condors may find their way here soon.

Stop again when the trail makes a 90-degree turn to the West. If you look up the hill from there, you'll see the summit museum in the distance and, a little closer, a redrock promontory called Devil's Pulpit.

If you have sharp eyes, you may be able to see the antique light on top of the summit museum, which is called "the eye of Diablo." Once a beacon for aviators, today the light is part of a Pearl Harbor commemoration each December 7.

Where the trail hits the road, there's an interpretive sign on your left and an elderberry bush on your right that is sharing its space with some poison oak. Look respectfully--and listen as naturalist Beverly Ortiz explains the elderberry's importance to native peoples.

Sorry about the paved-over look of this place! It's designed to provide access to nature for people who perhaps are not as intrepid or fit as you are. "It's a sacrifice area," admits Save Mount Diablo's Seth Adams. "It's our opportunity to introduce people to areas we really love--teach them how to use them without damaging them."

While you're here, you may want to take advantage of the restrooms and water fountain straight ahead. Civilization does have its benefits!

You can take a side trip east to the summit from here. But our route proceeds west across the parking lot to a signpost marking the trail back to Juniper Camp.

In the springtime when the ceanothus is blooming the whole hillside below can smell like honey!

On the home stretch, Seth Adams shows us "the Taj Mahal of trees" and explains why he likes to return to this mountain again and again.

It's just a short hike to Juniper Campground from here. Congratulations on completing a challenging circumambulation of Mount Diablo. Hope you enjoyed it!