Weekend trailheads fill up before 8am, parking spills onto the road, and long-timers say the pandemic turned their beloved mountain into an outdoor Disneyland. Should access be limited, or is complaining about popularity just old-timer gatekeeping?
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Add your commentmy grandpa used to take me up to the summit when i was little, early 80s, and wed sit there for like an hour and barely see another soul. i cried the first time i took my own daughter up there and the parking lot looked like a costco on black friday. i dont want to ban anyone from going. i just grieve what it was. thats allowed.
I've been hiking Diablo since before most of these people knew it existed. Saturday morning used to mean maybe 10 cars at Mitchell Canyon. Last weekend I counted 47 before 7:30am. 47. And half of them had no idea where they were going, blocking the trail to take photos of literally every rock. I don't think wanting a functioning trail experience makes me a gatekeeper — it makes me someone who actually cares about the mountain's health, not just their Instagram.
Timed entry permits worked wonders for Muir Woods. MDIA has been pushing for something similar at the summit road on weekends and honestly it's overdue. This isn't about keeping people out — it's about carrying capacity. The trails near the summit are getting genuinely degraded. I've watched erosion on the North Peak trail get measurably worse every spring. That's a real ecological problem, not a vibes problem.
moved here from the east bay two years ago and honestly mount diablo was one of the reasons we picked walnut creek. so yeah i'm one of the "newcomers" and you know what? we love that mountain too. maybe instead of complaining about too many people enjoying public land, longtime locals could advocate for better infrastructure? more shuttle options, timed entry, whatever. gatekeeping a state park is giving very weird energy.
To the commenter saying "just go on a Tuesday" — respectfully, some of us work five days a week and don't have that luxury. The whole point of a public park is that it's supposed to be accessible to everyone, not just retirees and remote workers who can pick their days. Figure out a real solution instead of telling working families to rearrange their lives.
Okay but can someone please explain to me why people insist on bringing their massive dogs off-leash on the single-track trails and then get offended when you say anything? Happened to me three times this summer alone. The overcrowding debate is valid but can we also talk about basic trail etiquette because some of y'all are absolutely feral out there. Longtime local or brand new transplant — rules apply to everyone.
Hot take nobody wants to hear: Diablo was always kind of crowded on weekends even in the 90s. People act like 2019 was some golden era of solitude and it really wasnt lol. Yes its busier now but come on. Go on a Tuesday morning. Problem solved. I do it every week.
Fun fact that I think people forget — Mount Diablo State Park is technically the park with the largest view from its summit of any peak in the world outside the Himalayas. You can see all the way to Hawaii on a clear day! So of course people want to visit it. It's world-famous! Can you really blame anyone for showing up?
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