My husband and I ended up at the Mitchell Canyon entrance at Mount Diablo after we found out that both the north and south gates of Mount Diablo were closed due to a bike race. This entrance of the park is well hidden and it also costs $6 to park here. We talked to the ranger working in the visitor center here to get some trail recommendations since we were pretty unfamiliar with this side of the park. The ranger was a very friendly man, gave us some great trail recommendations for both moderate and hard hikes. We even bought the big trail map of Mount Diablo for $6.
We ended up taking a nice hike through Mitchell Canyon on the Mitchell Canyon trail. This trail is pretty moderate, but gets to be pretty challenging at around the 3 mile mark, which is where we decided to turn around and head back to the parking lot. This trail has both shade and exposed sun at times. It was pretty hot out, so make sure you bring a lot of water because there is no water in the park due to the California drought. I brought 1.5 liters with me and ended up drinking all of it on our 6 mile hike.
There are several other trails at this entrance. You are also able to get to the summit from here in a 13 mile round trip hike. The hike to Eagles Peak is another popular trail as well. Definantly recommend this entrance as it is less crowded than the other entrances of the park, but still has plenty to offer. read more