Stanford Stories XXV - Snowy Mount Diablo

Mount Diablo is a well-known hiking destination in the East Bay Area. At 1173m, it is the tallest peak in Contra Costa County and offers stunning views of the surrounding region. While the mountain is popular year-round, there is something truly magical about hiking Mount Diablo in snowy conditions.

The last bit of the road leading up to the summit was closed due to the weather, so we parked at the Juniper trail head. Upon arrival we were greeted by a bit of hail - the first “snow fall” I could experience here in California. Fortunately, the hail didn’t last long and very soon sun was shining on snow-covered Mount Diablo which felt a bit like a winter wonderland. The hike itself was extremely nice, but of course slightly more challenging to to slippery conditions here and there. Fortunately everyone in our group was very well equipped for wintery conditions.

All in all, I can highly recommend hiking up Mount Diablo in snowy conditions. The view from the top is simply amazing. The snowy landscape was a pleasant change compared to our hike two weeks ago were temperatures almost rose to 20 degrees. Now that I have seen snow even in the Bay Area, I hope that temperatures will rise again such that part of the massive amounts of snow in the Sierras will be melting for my upcoming road trip.