Mount Diablo State Park — Attraction in Clayton

I have been to Mt. Diablo State Park many times and always enjoy it.

Wind Caves: The caves and rocks at Rock City are a favorite to climb, and my older son can climb them with adult assistance.

Hiking: You can drive all the way to the summit, but it's more fun to hike part of the way. There's one parking lot before the summit, Lower Summit Parking Lot, where you can take the Trail Through Time to Devil's Pulpit, followed by hiking up to the summit. Devil's Pulpit is a jagged rocky area that's not safe for kids but is safe for adults who climb it carefully. There's an unbelievable panoramic view from there and many other places on the mountain, especially when you look down from above the clouds. You feel like you're on top of the world.

The summit: It's very cold at the summit, so even if it's not cold on the way up, have a jacket to wear at the top. The summit is in the middle of a small visitor center that's build around it, so it's interesting to see a mountain jutting out of the top of a building. There are telescopes at the top that you can put coins in to use. I've also seen people hang-gliding near the mountain.

History: It's an interesting educational experience when you read the signs. You can learn about geology during the age of the dinosaurs. When I read more with my son, who loves dinosaurs, we found that Mount Diablo was under the ocean during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. There aren't any dinosaur fossils from the mountain, but it's an interesting fact that you're hiking where the ocean once was. It also has spiritual importance to Native Americans and is a California Registered Historical Landmark. There's an interesting scientific and human history behind it.

Camping: I went camping at Mt. Diablo once, and there wasn't anything particularly outstanding about the camping. It's still a great experience being in nature overnight for a few days not far from home if you live in the Bay Area. It also gives you more time to explore more trails day in and day out.

Snow: When it snows, I've seen the road blocked off at the Juniper campground parking lot area, where you can park and hike the rest of the way up. It's an enjoyable short hike walking in the snow!

Entrance Fee: the main entrance fee is $10.00 per car (Seniors 62 and over: $9.00 per car), so carpool if you can and make it an all...

This was my first time at Mt. Diablo State Park. We camped for one night at Live Oak campground with the plan to hike to the summit of the mountain. The drive up to Live Oak campground was enough to get me excited about the hike to the top. The view from the road was awesome the entire way to 1,450 feet, the elevation of the campground. The campground wasn't crowded and we chose a spot easily. All the facilities were nice, including tiled bathrooms and running water every few campsites. Some sites only had the old style stove instead of traditional fire rings but considering the fire danger was moderate we couldn't burn wood, only charcoal or those fire logs anyways so it ended up not mattering. Which was also a bummer. The summit trail leads right out of the back of Live Oak campground which was nice also. We did have some confusion because there seemed to be 100 different Summit Trail signs leading in every direction so we always chose the trail that went up! The hike was a butt kicker up to the top at 3,849 feet but the views and wild life were worth it. We saw two snakes, a fox, a deer, a rabbit, and plenty of lizards. The "Trail through Time" along the way was also cool with exhibits focusing on the mountains geological history. If you hike it, get ready for the Devil's Elbow, the final push straight up to the top. On the way down about a half mile from the campsite a tick managed to find his way into my calf so beware! Since you can drive all the way to the top when we reached the summit there were tons of tourists up there which did spoil the "We hiked to the top" feeling a little but we found a less crowded area and ate our lunch with a spectacular view! We also hiked up to Sentinel Rock the following day which was a gnarly little 1 mile hike that had me feeling like more a billy goat than a human. You get to scurry up and over a lot of rocks until you get to the base of Sentinel Rock, which has guard rails up along the trail to the top because your literally climbing on chiseled steps in...

This mountain has been considered a spiritual place for thousands of years, but on our overnight stay my group experienced something altogether different. Instead of the soothing sounds of nature, we were blasted by a loud music into the wee hours of the night (2:00AM), from from nearby neighbors just outside the park. Being trapped, as the park gate is closed overnight, with inescapably loud music, gives new meaning to "Devil Mountain". Even a call to the authorities couldn't put a stop to the din. Otherwise, it's a fine park for camping, hiking, cycling, and picnicking. We were in the Boundary, Stagecoach and Wildcat group campgrounds around the Junction Ranger Station, about halfway up to the summit - other campgrounds further away were probably spared the roar. I was initially concerned about the safety of camping behind locked gates, but found there's cellular phone coverage all over the park, so you can call emergency services if the need arises. Even with the locked gate, there was an occasional car on the road throughout the night - maybe a ranger patrol. There's a nice little visitor center in an interesting depression-era stone tower, at the 3849' summit of the mountain. If you've heard that Yosemite's Half Dome and the Farillon Islands can be seen from the top, don't be disappointed to find that the air quality is too poor for such good visibility on all but a few days each year. Still, there's a certain satisfaction to being at the top of any mountain peak, no matter the conditions, and you'll get a grand view of the immediate surroundings, unless it's completely fogged in, which is rare so far...