Mount Diablo - North Gate - Walnut Creek

Mt. Diablo, west of Walnut Creek, is the closest of the three big mountains in the Bay Area. Mt. Tamalpais in Marin is 2,571 ft, Mt. Diablo is 3,849 ft, and Mt. Hamilton near San Jose is 5000 ft. It has been claimed that on the clearest of days the landmass viewable from the summit is second only to Mt. Kilimanjaro which peaks at over 19,000 ft. Our former webmaster has personally seen Half Dome in Yosemite, Mt. Lassen and the Faralon Islands (35 miles past the Golden Gate) from the summit of the mountian. Whatever the view from the top, climbing Mt. Diablo is a challange. There are two roads into the state park which meet at about 2000 ft above sea level (Ranger Station); one road from there leads to the Summit. There is water at the Ranger Station and at the Summit. The climbs are Tunnel, Mt. Diablo and Wildcat. The descents are North Pinehurst and Mt. Diablo. Mt. Diablo probably has the most patrolling police of any of the routes, and they will ticket speeding cyclists. Besides, the beautiful scenery coming down is too blurry at full speed!

The Mount Diablo - North Gate is situated in California and belongs to the San Francisco Bay Area . Starting from Walnut Creek, the Mount Diablo - North Gate ascent is 18.8 km long. Over this distance, you climb 1099 heightmeters. The average percentage thus is 5.8 %.

Look for other sides to climb the Mount Diablo - North Gate.

Story by Mike from San Francisco, United States, submitted on 07/02/2009

Ive climbed Mt. Diablo via the north gate many times. Of the 3 well-known summit climbs in the bay area (Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais), this one is the middle one in both length and distance, but I actually find it easier (or I should say, more enjoyable) than Mt. Tam, due to the amount of car traffic on the roads up and around Mt. Tam. Regarding the climb it never really gets that steep and after the north gate guard station, it flattens out for a few kms before getting back to it. The very steep section at the top is about 1/4 mi long and is just short enough that most make it up without having to walk after the long haul to get there. Summer can be brutally hot mid-day and in fall youll often see tarantulas on the roads as they journey out of their lairs looking for a mate.

My personal climb rating:

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