Hiking Mount Diablo - San Francisco Bay Area

Mount Diablo has many trails to the top but as always, I head straight for the summit if a road exists. If you get some views, it�s possible to see west to the Farallon Islands, southeast to Mount Hamilton/Copernicus Peak, south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains and north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range. You can also see farther north to Mount Lassen in the Cascades and east to the Sierra Nevada. Other than the view, I was attracted to Mount Diablo because it is a county highpoint and a 2,000+ prominence peak. On the summit is a historic stone building built in the 1930�s. Inside is a visitor�s center and on top of the building is an observation deck with telescopes. The first toll was charged in 1874 so expect to pay to get up. According to a sign at the summit, it is possible to view the second greatest surface area seen from any peak in the world, exceeded only by the 19,340 foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. This claim is ridiculous and should be removed.