Silicon Valley!
Mission Peak (2520 FT/ 768m)
Mission Peak is in Fremont CA, a landmark of Silicon Valley.
The peak is located the east side of San Francisco Bay. From the summit, we can see Silicon Valley and we might see San Francisco if the sky is clear.
There are some trails to reach the summit. One of popular trail heads is located near I-680 Mission exit, the end of Stanford Avenue. There is another trail head on the south side of Ohlone College. The last one is Sunol Regional Park on the east side.
Today, I hiked from the Standford Avenue trail head.
Trail head
Trail head is located the end of Stanford Avenue where is close to I680 Mission Blvd. There are two mission exit on I680. The one where is close to the trail head is one in the south.
There is a small parking at the trail head, however, the parking could be full in the most of weekends in a good season like spring. Then people may need to park on a street in a residence area. Stanford Avenue near the trail head is no parking. Police officers could check periodically in high season, therefore it is not a good idea to park there.
It seems the trail is getting very popular and I could not find any good spot near the trail head in the residence area. So that I had to walk extra half miles (about 1km) to get to the trail head today. Other than very early in the morning, you might have a hard time to find out a parking spot.
There is one restroom in the trail head, however, it was crowded and people made a long line this morning around 9am.
Trails
From the trail head, there are two different trails. One is a primary trail straight up to the summit and most of people take this trail. However, it is usually crowded and noisy. (Hidden Valley Trail) That is one of reason I usually take another trail that branches to right near the trail head. This trail could be steeper than the main trail, however, there were not many people and quiet. (Peak Meadow Trail) I like this trail better and I usually take this trail for hiking up and come back from the main trail. The total loop is around 5 miles (8km).
Peak Meadow Trail
The both trails are wide fire truck lanes. Except very small section near the main ridge, there is no shade and it might be very hot in a mid day in summer. Today was not too bad. It is hot when I climbed up, but once I stopped, there was nice wind and very nice day for hiking.
Nice view in the middle section on Peak Meadow Trail
Once getting into the middle section of the trail, we can see a whole Silicon Vally and San Francisco Bay. The mid section is steep. Most of trails in this area is on a small hills and there might not be that steep in the other trail. Mission Peak and Mt. Diablo could be one of hardest one near Silicon Valley area.
Summit on the left
Once pass the middle section, the trail is getting flat and it will be a single track. In this season, there are many wild flowers and this could be one of nice hiking trail in spring.
We can see a whole bay near the summit
From the main ridge, we can see a whole Silicon valley and San Francisco Bay. It is really nice view and that is the reason this trail is very very popular and crowed.
Summit, so many people
At the summit, so many people took a rest and took photos. It was really noisy and almost no space to take a rest today. So I just pass through the summit.
On the way back, I took hidden Valley trail. There are some choices from the top. Most of people take one on the east side, this trail is wide and easy to walk. I usually take one on the west side. The west side is steep and the trail is just a single track. But it could be a bit shorter and not many people.
Here is where I walked today
(Total 6miles + or 10km, about 2 hours)
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