Mount Diablo hike · Mount Diablo Interpretive Association route · from Lower Summit Parking Lot
Mary Bowerman summit circuit
- Distance
- ~0.7 mi, approximate, as the guide gives it
- Elevation
- Not reported by the guide
- Difficulty
- Easy, in the guide's own terms
- Shape
- Loop
- Park
- Mount Diablo State Park sets hours, rules and closures
Included in MDIA's popular-hikes selection. That is the guide authors' judgement, not a count.
Read the MDIA short-walks guideCheck park alerts and conditions
The guide's outline
The trails the guide names, in order. An outline, not directions: connectors the guide leaves unnamed are left unnamed here, and the park's official map is the reference.
- Mary Bowerman Trail
Start: Lower Summit Parking Lot
- Where
- Summit area; the trailhead is above the lot at the end of the one-way descending summit road
- Parking
- Reached by the park's summit road, not by driving through Mitchell Canyon.
- Hours
- State park rules; approved astronomy programs may have specific after-hours arrangements.
- Facilities
- Water and toilets documented by MDIA; current operation not verified.
Rules that apply
- Hours
- Plan on gates 8am to sunset. The 2026 operating order: no entry after sunset, all areas close 45 minutes after sunset until 8am, and vehicles and bikes should head out within 15 minutes. Approved after-hours events are the exception.
- Dogs
- Pets are prohibited on trails and fire roads; trained service dogs are allowed on leash. Developed-area rules differ.
- Bikes
- Road-width dirt and gravel fire roads and specifically designated singletrack, Class 1 e-bikes included. Other segments: not verified.
- Fees
- A vehicle entry fee is charged at the staging areas and gates and differs by access point. Check current amounts on the park page.
From Mount Diablo State Park; closures are not tracked here.
Worth knowing
- A drive-up outing at the summit, not a hike up from Clayton.
- MDIA describes only the first third as accessible; the full circuit is not wheelchair accessible.
- The guide calls it level but reports no gain figure, so none is shown.