Back and Donner Canyon Loop Mt Diablo SP 7 Mi Moderate Hike

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CARPOOL REQUEST COMMENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE GROUP. Please read below how to carpool.
Level: Moderate
Total Distance: 7 miles round-trip
Hiking Time: 3.5 hours
Elevation Change: 1,100 feet
Official Trial Use: No Dogs

Carpooling:

We will use this link for carpooling:

https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/p6m2vz

Please sign up here. No parking lot. Street parking only.

GPS Coordinates for meeting place:

Degrees Decimal Format for Google Maps:

37.9222601,-121.9291697

Degrees/Minutes/Seconds format for most cars:

37°55'20.1"N 121°55'40.6"W

Nearest street address:

313 Mountaire Pkwy, Clayton, CA

Getting there:

Please use the Google maps link at the top to plan your own route from your home.

NOTE: If possible, use the GPS coordinates when driving as the nearest street address may be a couple of miles away on some of our trips in some GPS maps. The nearest street address is there for people with older GPS units that do not accept coordinates.

Meeting place:

Back Creek Trail head at the end of Mountaire Pkwy.

Recommended Map:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/517/files/mtDiabloBrochure.pdf

Summary: A moderate hike leads to a series of surprising waterfalls on the brush-covered slopes of Mount Diablo’s less-visited side.

Trial Directions:
The trailhead is located at the end of Regency Drive, a suburban neighborhood in Clayton. (You don’t have to pay the state park day-use fee here.) Walk down to Donner Creek beyond the street barrier and through the gated park boundary. Take the fire road on the right signed as Back Creek Road. Although the hike begins in grasslands and oaks, it doesn’t stay that way for long. In 0.5 mile, Back Creek Road meets up with its namesake stream, and shortly thereafter the road narrows to single-track. As soon as the trail drops down to proper hiking width, the vegetation closes in. Back Creek Trail climbs gently but steadily amid eroded rock formations and dense stands of sage, toyon, yerba santa, and monkey flower, heading due south toward the mountain’s summit. Watch for an abandoned mine tunnel, only a few feet deep, on the left side of the trail. At the point where the canyon divides, turn left on Meridian Point Trail and climb more steeply through chaparral until the path tops out at Meridian Point. From the high overlook at this junction with Meridian Ridge Road, you gain a wide view of the town of Clayton and a glimpse of Suisun Bay to the northwest. Follow Meridian Ridge Road downhill for 0.25 mile to single-track Middle Trail. Turn right on Middle Trail; you’ve left Back Canyon and are now entering Donner Canyon. The steep buttress of Mount Diablo’s North Peak towers above, at 3,557 feet. Watch for the left turnoff for Falls Trail and then follow this rough, narrower trail for 1.25 miles as it winds along the steep slopes of Donner Creek. Whereas Back Creek is only a small stream, Donner Creek can become a wide torrent during the rainy season. Where the loop trail reaches its southernmost point and starts to curve to the northeast, you cross a fork of Donner Creek and start seeing waterfalls. Most are about 20 feet high, although one impressive 30-foot free fall drops over jagged, red-brown rock. The trail stays about 100 feet distant from the cascades. You do get the extraordinary experience of seeing as many as five waterfalls at once in a very small area. Note the occasional foothill pines along Falls Trail; their cones are extremely dense and can weigh up to four pounds. Among the eroding rock formations, you find scattered juniper trees bearing bright blue winterberries. Where Falls Trail crosses the eastern fork of Donner Creek, the cascades are left behind. Watch out for steep drop-offs as you hike downhill out of Donner Canyon , enjoying more northward views of Clayton and Suisun Bay. At Falls Trail’s end, turn left on Cardinet Oaks Road. You make five switchbacks downhill, cross Donner Creek again, and then turn right on Donner Canyon Road at Cardinet Junction. To finish out your hike turn right on single-track Hetherington Loop Trail. This narrow path tunnels through bay laurel trees and skirts Donner Creek, eventually returning you to Donner Canyon Road. Then it’s a level stroll through pastoral oaks, buckeyes, and grasslands back to the Regency Drive trailhead.

Some content from: Brown, Ann Marie (2014-09-16). Moon 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area (Moon Outdoors) (Kindle Locations 3771-3781). Avalon Travel. Kindle Edition.