Summit Trail Main Trailhead — Attraction in Danville

Started here to hike to Mt. Diablo peak at 7:30. Trail is not dog friendly. No parking near trailhead. If arriving before gates open, there is public (free) parallel parking about 1 mile before trailhead - nothing after trailhead.

Total hike around 13 miles to peak starting from this parking area. Trail is wide and open in most places - challenge is distance and elevation, not technical. First 3 miles with decent shade, then pretty exposed. Going up this early had minimal traffic, coming down lots of people on upper half, bikers on lower half. Minimal mud, no snow or ice this time of year.

Great hike overall, although wishing for more technical trail at times. I went straight up (4 hour fast walk-jog round trip) but you can take your time and explore the camping area + Rock City Park to make a whole day...

There is zero parking at the trailhead. There is some free parking on weekends in town about a mile before the trail. Distance from there to peak about 6.5 miles, so 13 miles round trip. Start early if you want to reach the peak. Lots of elevation gain but not a super difficult hike. I’d call it moderate. Pretty open in the last half so probably best in Spring or Fall. Detour to Rock City is fun if you have time. Not too many hikers because of the...

The trail from Juniper Campground offers a fantastic loop with the option to detour to Mount Diablo’s summit for stunning views of the Bay Area and Central California. The visitors center and water refill station...