Diablo Lake — Saturday, Jul. 1, 2023

Absolutely brilliant day hike, not too crowded, and not as difficult as I anticipated. We arrived at 9am, on a Saturday of a holiday weekend, so I was surprised it wasn’t crowded to start with. It was definitely more packed once we returned to the parking lot with families and other groups on the shore by the lake.

Best parts: the views, the well maintained trail, wildflowers, the friendly folks at the Learning Center where we parked, being outside on a perfect day, other responsible dog owners and friendly dogs, putting my feet in the cold lake water after a long hike, songbirds in the forest.

Less than best: a bit of the steep part of the trail is loose rocks and gravel. It’s totally navigable, but it’s just not my favorite kind of terrain. There are also a lot of powerlines around, so if you are wanting photos of the sweeping and majestic views, those will provide you an extra challenge.