I am a first year cyclist training for the 2009 Cinderella Century Challenge ride with Fremont Freewheelers Bicycle Club. Mines Road was our training # 9 (of 10)- totaling 78 miles and 6.5 hours of riding time. It was a grueling ascent up up up for 20+ miles. Spectacular views, pristine countryside and micro climates that ranged from sun, mist, rain and hail on this road. I didn't know if I unzipped/zipped my jersey or pull out my helmet cover I would regret it on the next switchback. The reward was a warm fireplace, restroom break, reload on water a sandwiches and a seat (other than my saddle) at the Junction Cafe. AHHHHHH!!!!! What goes up must come down. The best looooong descent ever! Great switchbacks! Loved seeing the wild California poppies on the hillside. It was all SMILES at the bottom for sure! Motorcyclist and bike cyclists enjoy the challenge of this road. Thank you car drivers for being patient with the cyclists and driving around us safely. I will be back to re-conquer this stretch! read more

For any motorcycle riders or spirited drivers out there, this road is a great ride. I ride a Harley V Rod, and by the time I'm done with this ride, the bike's pegs, exhaust and radiator are all scratched up from leaning in. That's a testament to this road. Great curves, beautiful scenery, and overall, good asphalt. In the summer, it can't be beat. For newbs, watch some of the decreasing radius curves on the Alameda side. If not ready for these, you'll end up on the opposite lane. In winter, and after rains, the road has a lot of gravel at the curves, so it's best to take it easy. If on the lookout for this, you'll be OK, but if not, good luck. Also, The Junction restaurant is a good spot to relax, grab some food and talk about the ride. read more

WOOHOO!! This is a rockin' twisties place if you're a motorcyclist. Great scenery too! Don't dump it though because as others have stated you're on your own, no call boxes, only a few ranches, maybe a cow would help you push your bike back up? :-) It kind of makes us think of the 2006 movie "The Hills Have Eyes". Watch out for the cow guards on the road if you're 2-wheelin' it they're a little slippery. One of our favorite close to home quick rides. Oh goodness.. after reading Randy's review I forgot to add, the twisties are great but watch out for cyclists we don't take the corners as fast as we would like to out of fear there will be a cyclist around the next corner. Share the road! Be cautious of slower moving "vehicles"! read more

Lived at the 14 Mile Ranch on Mines Rd for 19 years. Peace and quiet. Had a pet red fox that took 6 months to trust me enough to take food from my hand. Also Deer, Valley Quail, Road Runners, and other wildlife around. Vast views of the California central valley from the ridgetops. Best and most peaceful 19 years of my life living in California. read more

Wow, someone already reviewed Mines Road. And he's right...you are on your own up here. Entering from Livermore off Tesla Road, Mines will run you through the mountains to the Junction of Mines and Del Puerto Canyon Road. If you go left onto Del Puerto Canyon Road, you will wind through the canyon to Patterson, on I-5. My uncle lives out this way. If you continue along Mines (which becomes Mt. Hamilton Road), you will exit the mountains at Alum Rock Road in San Jose. Many people bicycle this route. They are very brave, with very big balls (usually squeezed into spandex). This is a perfect excursion for a day drive in a car, or if you're a motorcylist, you may already know about this place. Beware of the one-lane areas!!! And notice how Santa Clara County takes FAR better care of it's remotest roads than either Alameda County (near Livermore) or Stanislaus County (Del Puerto Canyon Road). Do it! Enjoy!!! Stop at the Junction for a soda! read more

OK, I'm negligent in my posting duties. I've had the Mines Road run as my "most recent discovery" on my Yelp homepage for over a year now & JUST realized it had it's own review section. Oh well, but it's good to know that everybody else who has posted here is (for the 1st time perhaps in Yelp history) 100% in agreement about something. Yes it is a HELL OF A RIDE! Yes it will beat you up, make your forearms shake & sore by the time your done. You will have 25+% less tire tread and brake pads left when you are done. You might need to refuel to get yourself home and you will sleep like a baby later that night. All that said, it's obvious that the pre-drive checklist is not something to be scoffed at. My routine is to fill up the tank at the Andrade Rd./Sunol Super Fuel Stop with a tank of 100 octane racing gas, check tire pressure, grab a few botles of water & snacks & slooowly make my way out Vallecitos Rd. to Concannon & then onto Mines Rd. From there it's about as big of a kick in the pants, E-ticket, scenic roller coaster ride you'll be able to legally have this side of a trip to the Nurburgring. On my two most recent trips I've only encountered a few random cyclists, a small group of leather clad rice rocket racers and a lone cow. No nasty bunny bashing incidents but damn there are dozens of ground squirrels that I barely missed that have some Audi burn on their backsides. I was also lucky to have a fresh set of Dunlop Direzza Z-1 Star Spec tires just installed & my ride (Audi TT 3.2 DSG, full coil-over setup, Modshak VDTA cold air intake, Milltek downpipe& cats & APR ECU upgrade) just SCREEEEEAAAMED through the final uphill climb to Mt. Hamilton! Running through the paddle shift gears in full manual mode with traction control/ESP OFF was an experience that I simply cannot wait to try again! read more

If you own a motorcycle, you need to ride this. If you still have chicken strips on your tires after this ride you are doing something wrong. Go with a friend though. No help anywhere in sight. No callboxes. No cell service. No gas. Also, don't be a douche riding through Livermore to get here. The cops are out in force. read more

Okay....OK! This ~is~ a drive, but it's anchored by businesses on each end. Wente Vineyards and Lick Observatory anchor each end of this drive but in-between things are few and far-between. Once you choose the left fork of the "Y," staying on Mines Road, when Del Valle goes off to the right, you're on your own! You've started on a drive that will take you to one of the most remote - yet close - places in the bay area. The San Antonio Valley lies in the Diablo Range and the road is paved all the way from Livermore to Mt Hamilton. (...first time I met the Mines Road, the backside of Mt Hamilton was a "maintained gravel" road) Also, after a particularly wet winter, the road can wash-out in some places. If that doesn't "wet yer whistle" then don't go left at the Mines Road-Del Valley junction. Go right and visit windy Lake Del Valle. read more

See all

I can't believe this is covered by yelp. A while back a friend called me up and said he bought a truck off ebay. Asked if I wanted to take a little drive to Livermore. Off we went. I didn't realize how far we were driving. It was a fascinating place. So close to the urban Bay Area, but it feels so remote. Feels like a different world out there. Saw a herd of Thule elk. Went to a real ranch to go pick up the truck. Called AAA, surprisingly they came out to pick up the truck. From what little I saw I'd say it's a great place to live and not your typical bay area environment, but not for everyone. Tonight I remembered that fascinating area, did a search for info and a link to yelp was one of the hits. read more

It's hilarious that a road has it's own set of reviews here. Whatever...I'll go with it. Mines is awesome. I've been coming out here since I was a kid. Back then, it was all about catching all kinds of cool herps while cruising the road at dusk. In the winter, it's great to go back and throw the dogs into the snow to see what they think. Riding a moto on it is fun...but it's not for the inexperienced...especially if you plan on taking Del Puerto out. There's a significant amount of rock slide debris, and worn road, particularly in the winter months. These days, I still go out to check for herps on a free summer day. It's a treasure of a road, as any local will tell you. If nothing else, it's a great drive. Not too many annoying cyclists on it either unless you happen to catch a group of them. Don't know why those idiots love to eat brake dust and exhaust, but to each his own. read more

This one is for the cyclists out there. Yesterday rode out from the Pleasanton/Dublin BART up and over Mines road to the observatory, then down to Milpitas via Mt. Hamilton Road. Our total distance was just under 100 miles and the climbing amounted to around 7500 feet. The weather was nice and mild til about 11, when the sun (and utter lack of shade) began to beat down. If you decide to do this ride--and you should, if you have the climbing legs, endurance, and solid riding skills--here are my recommendations for a safe, if not torture free, day: 1. Start very, very early if you ride during the summer months. 2. Bring 3 waterbottles, and drink heavily before beginning. Definitely add an electrolyte mix, and bring extra. You want water AND salt on this one. 3. Drink early, drink often. This is a dangerous place to be if you get deyhdrated or bonk. 4. You can refill your bottle at the CDF fire station before Mines road turns into San Antonio. You'll need it for the final climb. There is also a cafe just down the road from the fire station. 5. Watch for deer, rocks, broken boards, etc. on the descents. I almost ran into a deer yesterday coming fast around a corner (would've been hospitalized if I'd been on my motorcycle). 6. Beware riding Mines road alone. 7. Lots of sunblock. 8. Motorcyclists/Auto enthusiasts were respectful, but there are always gasoline powered dumb-asses out there, so stay sharp. have fun, and ride this one in the fall or spring when the temperatures drop a bit. I imagine this ride is way better on a cool day. Have fun! read more

We are not bikers and we still love this road. We drive around for fun, I know we need to get a life! But it works when our little one naps and it's a good chat time :) Anyways, we've been taking this road even before she was born. It is a beautiful scenery and it is just so relaxing and we love this trip. I keep hoping we'll run into a mountain lion LOL Yeah I am an idiot like that. My husband just laughs at me. At night we had incidents with deer and other not too exciting wild life LOL I recommend taking this trip at least once. read more

Amazing area filled with Leprechauns and Unicorns. I highly recommend it. Free beer available at mile marker 14

So, hypothetically speaking, one time a friend of mine may have mentioned that on the Evo forums, some guys mentioned Mines Road as being an amazing drive, but at times "scary." In the automotive world, there may be one camp that favors all-wheel drive cars (Lancer Evolution, Subaru WRX STi, various Audis), and thinks it to be the best layout. there's another camp that is convinced that rear-wheel drive cars (BMW's, the Infiniti G35, the Nissan 350Z) are superior. There's a third camp that thinks front wheel drive cars (90% of the cars on the road, including your mom's Camry, your sister's Corolla, your Jetta, your BFF's Civic) are the best. This third camp is, on occasion, subject to massive raids from the other two camps in which all their Slim Jims and six-packs are stolen, and their tents knocked over because they just can't hang. I own a Honda S2000. It is simply the best car ever made. "A four-wheel motorcycle," it has been called. Six-speed manual, 9000 rpm redline 240 horse inline 4, convertible top, xenon headlights and, best of all: no traction control, a rarity in this day and age on a rear-wheel drive sports car. It's the car, as god intended: small, lightweight, fast, a transmission that doesn't shift itself, a top that goes down and single-row seating for you, and one high-quality guest. So, in theory, I may have driven out there with said friend due to some sort of pride issue because he thought that all wheel drive (AWD) cars are superior to rear wheel drive cars (RWD). His brother in law, a motorcyclist, may have said something about the road being "awesome" but "not really for cars," and I may have taken this as an affront. I may have read a few accounts of cruises up this road that ended in disaster, and this may have made me more eager to go due to some sort of personal need to validate myself by proving everyone around me to not have a damn clue what they were talking about, because I never finished my degree or I regret not being extremely outgoing or something. After a quick stop at the Taco Bell on Tesla and a full tank of 91 at Valero, I may have set out to prove something by heading down the Mines road sometime well after darkness had fallen. This may or may not have been a testosterone thing, I dont know. What I do know is the following: - you should not consider driving this road if you are new at driving, not a very good driver, lack confidence behind the wheel, are susceptible to motion sickness, have slow reflexes, saw The Fast and the Furious and thought it was cool, or drive a lifted pickup: this road may very well kill you. Seriously. It is dotted with white crosses bearing names of and offerings to those who have perished on it. - Cell phones just plain dont work here. The only pay phone or callbox is at the intersection of Mines and Del Puerto and it doesnt work (I checked just to be safe). There are absolutely no gas stations or service stations. Again, this road may kill you, and it may be because they you and/or your companions couldn't call for help in a situation that probably wouldn't have killed you elsewhere. - A half-hour smoke break at the intersection revealed absolutely no other motorists or bipedal signs of life. That said, I may have suffered an existential crisis on this road when a bunny ran across the road to safety, made it, inexplicably turned back towards the road, and connected with my bumper and oil sump (bunny: 4 lbs, 6mph; S2000 2600 lbs; ...the speed limit). As a strict vegetarian for the last decade, this may have caused me to freak the hell out and question the morality of what I was doing, and a moment later, another bunny may have connected with the driver's side corner my bumper and I may have simultaneously seen the bunny fly out towards the black abyss outside of my headlights, and also felt a pair of bumps as the car sailed past. My cry of, "NOOOOOOO BUN-BUN!" may have awoken fauna for a few miles, I don't know. I digress, it's unlikely the fauna that were still animate would not have been stirred by HOW AWESOME MY DRIVING SKILLS ARE I mean, I'm sure most of them are nocturnal anyhow. read more

Great ride on a bicycle if not for the dozens of motorbikes zooming by. Don't take me wrong, most of the bikers are nice: they slow down before passing, and leave ample space (mandatory 3 feet and more). But, man, some of them are there for a fight it seems, as they pass you within a few inches at full speed. Almost like they do it on purpose to intimidate you. I had nothing against bikers when I started my ascent: I would go as far right as I could near the shoulder when I would hear one coming, and try to share the road. But at the end of my 56 miles R/T to the Junction cafe, it was hard not to be upset and fed up by their constant aggressions. What is it about some of those guys that they cannot share the road like civilized people ? Apart from this, and in between the sporadic roaring noises and the smell of exhaust, this is a fantastic and beautiful ride. The weather was perfect, and the green pastures of the Bay Area winter makes it a must do for a cyclist. read more

Wonderful to drive through. I can imagine if I had a convertable, what would be nice! But don't go too fast. There's plenty of wild animals that can jump out at you at anytime. My friend's brand new SUV was ruined when he hit a deer going pretty fast! read more

Watch out for gravel, cyclists and animals. Other than that, superb run. Only run that beats it is Mount Hamilton.

This was an awesome ride! I drove this in March when everything was green and the river was really flowing. There are plenty of places to pull over to take photos or check out the scenery too. I loved the wide open areas and all the different types of trees. I drove this from Livermore to Mt. Hamilton and it took about 2 hours, so be sure you aren't running on empty. Definitely a great Sunday drive!! read more

This is a great road for an avid motorcyclist with a good or excellent skill set. Not to be taken lightly. The gravel, narrow sections of the road and one lane areas need to be taken with care. This is not my first time down the road, and not my first time to see very close calls from traffic and cyclists. Be aware that they do gravel the road during winter and riding in the spring can get dicey. Went out today and the road was very clean with some rocks and gravel. On the way out of the junction they were helicoptering out a rider that went down. Please have a great ride and enjoy the sceneries but be cautious. read more

My husband and I love riding this rode on our motorcycles. Great Views, great twisties, justfun all around. There is a bar way out there too that is fun to go to as well! Just make sure you watch the corners, foilage sits there and my hubby took his first dump there, he was fine, but wasnt wearing a jacket. So make sure you gear up! And go with someone, because they are right. No cell phone coverage and if you fall you are screwed. Not many people drive this road. Nighttime it gets scetchy, lots of deer and animals cross the road so make sure to do it at night. And gear up right so if you fall, you dont die. Take a kit with you too if you can. My husband had to hop back on and ride with a massive cut and it burned like hell. read more

Be aware: On 3/29/11 I witnessed the Mt. Hamilton to Livermore cycling competiton. All but the very beginner cat. 5 cyclists were competing. The course involved climbng Mt. Hamilton adn then descending the treacherous back side, continuing over the county line and on Mines road which became one line for at least 9 miles probably more like 15 due to the break into a slightly larger road for a short distance and then back to single lane. The road was not closed to traffic and there was another ride/event for motorcycles at the same time. And of course other 4 wheeled vehicles were using the road as well. I have been trying to find out about accidents and injuries, but this much I observed and heard: a female professional cyclist had a seriousbad fall; one cyclist went off the ledge and was helicoptered out; I saw 2 ambulances arrive to retrieve people and I understand that the race officials had an abulance at the site wich would seem that at least 3 ambulances were needed; I saw two injured cyclists at EMT center; I watched a whole pack of male cyclists (judging from teh time, probably teh cat. 3 or 2 racers ride in mass covering the bottleneck at the county line where the road became a singl lane. If a car had been coming from the other direction, undoubtedly mass casualties would have resulted. Cyclist were rding well above posted speed limits. Of course - it was a race! But why the road was no closed to outside traffick for this already incredibly challegig course is beyond belief! There was little to no posting alerting casual drivers about the race. An unsuspecting driver could attempt to carefully go around another car on the single lane road (as a BMW driver behind me attempted) and fnd one or more fast paced cyclists flying around the corner on the windshield. read more

Perfect drive or ride with spectacular scenery and plenty to see and do. Highly recommend the trip.

Yesterday, drove from Livermore to Mt. Hamilton and to San Jose. As expected, it took a long time. Except in some stretches, it is an easy 2-way road. For those who like this kind of road, it will be fun; otherwise, may feel a bit too long. We stopped in many places along the road to photograph the wildflowers. Came across gopher snakes in the road in couple of places. read more

My dad taught me to drive on this road when a few small streams crossed the road in the spring time. That was in 1955. Driven it many times since but not in the last 5 years. Anxious to revisit. Beautiful area and fun to explore. read more

My husband and I love to take Sunday drives on this road (it's beautiful), with the Junction at the 27 mile marker being the perfect place to stop and have a linguica sandwich and a draft beer. There are new owners who have added more choices of food and drink to their menu. It's always fun to see all the cool motorcycles parked in the lot. It's a fun day, and doesn't cost much $$ read more

One of the best local birdwatching sites in the East Bay. Fairly reliable here are Lawrence's Goldfinch, Phainopepla and Golden Eagle. A beautiful drive, especially when combined with Del Puerte Canyon Rd. read more

This is a very low speed, tight corner road, good for a light car or small motorcycle. You'll have to assume there'll be a pack of bicyclists around each blind corner. read more

only been from San Jose , Alum Rock Ave., over Mt. Hamilton to the Junction, then to Patterson . great ride on a motorcycle. Everything all the other posts say are true. From San Jose, to the Junction is about 40 miles one way . Going north on Mines Rd. to Livermore is another 40 miles? . As long as your are gassed up , your vehicle , NOT YOU , you are good to go . Going east to Patterson , 25 miles, is also a great ride , very similar to the other 2 roads . Patterson is a good place for gas and fast food . P. S. - After you go past Mt Hamilton - Lick Observatory , around mile markers 2 and 3, east bound, there is a lot of loose dirt in the shaded corners to help with the ice on the road when it got real cold in early Jan. 2014 . there were no warning signs and as little use the road gets and no rain , it will be up there a long time .. Oh yeah , verizon gets a signal at the Junction . Something about a tower at the fire station ? read more