Diablo Double Down

Hike Mount Diablo Sycamore Canyon Loop

10.20.2015

Fall colors, big views, and a chance to see tarantulas? Sounds like a howl of a good hike for Halloween season! Mount Diablo State Park’s Sycamore Canyon loop trail is a 4-mile hike where you can relish the colors of fall using Knobcone Point, Blackhawk, and Sycamore Creek Roads from Curry Point. Stately oak branches slice fog into ghostly forms, and randy rogue male tarantulas are on the prowl in a last-ditch attempt to find a paramour before mating season ends. Set out among rolling meadows with sublime views of the Mount Diablo massif above Curry. The highlight of the hike: burnt red, orange, and yellow leafy blankets warming the deep and narrow reaches of the canyon floor beneath skyscraping sycamores. To complete the loop, find the return connector trail about a quarter of a mile beyond the junction of Blackhawk and Sycamore Creek Roads. Peculiarly bubbling sulfurous streams sometimes mark the spot. Double, double, toil and trouble!

Park at the Curry Point parking lot just north of Rock City. Start hiking on the Knobcone Point Road for about 1 mile to Blackhawk Trail. Turn right and continue to Sycamore Creek Road. Turn right to Devils Slide Trail and turn right again. Begin the climb out of Sycamore Canyon and head back to Knobcone Point Road. Turn left back to the trailhead. Open 8:00 a.m. to sunset. $10 entry fee. No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Napa Valley Paddle kayaker and paddle boarder on the Napa Valley river

    Napa's Wild Side

    It’s wine country’s Amazon. The gentle Napa River is an ecological—and recreational—delight. And Napa Valley Paddle sets you up for maximum enjoyment of this experience.

    View

  2. Been There, Dome That

    Surrounded by granite domes, craggy peaks, and miles of hiking trails, the High Sierra landscape of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is famous for good reason. For a truly grand view, take a short hike to bold—and bald (except for snow at times)—Lembert Dome.

    View

  3. Wapama Wows

    Hetch Hetchy can be overlooked in Yosemite National Park because of its more remote location and limited facilities. But this is where you’ll also find one of the best day hikes in the park: Wapama Falls.

    View
  4. Hike Mount Tamalpais into Muir Woods

    Muir Woods Through the Backdoor

    A backdoor entrance into Muir Woods? Hike a tranquil trail that starts in Mount Tamalpais State Park and quietly leads into Muir Woods, letting you avoid the busyness of the main parking area.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories

  1. Inn-spiration Point!

    For more than a century, people have been hiking or mountain biking to West Point Inn for good reason. Perched at 1,785 feet on the southern slope of Mount Tamalpais, the historic inn has sweeping views from the Marin Headlands to the San Francisco skyline.

    View

  2. A Thousand Steps to Paradise

    A picture is worth a thousand words, but is a gorgeous beach in Laguna worth a thousand steps? The answer is yes, though the question is moot, because it’s only 223 steep steps down to the 400-yard stretch of sand known as 1000 Steps Beach.

    View
  3. Sponsored

    Take the Exit to the Best of the San Francisco Peninsula

    The San Francisco Peninsula is proof that some of Northern California’s greatest surprises are hiding just off Highway 101. All you have to do is take the exit.

    View
  4. Hike to the Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout in the Lakes Basin

    Lookout for This View!

    Sierra Buttes Lookout, at a lofty 8,591 feet, is a memory maker for its pucker-worthy stairway to the tower’s balcony. It's a 5-mile (round-trip) hike to reach it. And the reward? Epic!

    View