We stopped here to hike at about 3:30 pm on a Friday afternoon. Two adults, two kids age 11 and 12. It was a perfect stretch break on our drive across to Winthrop. We parked on highway 20 by the sign. From the campground entrance the trail is well signed. After crossing the log bridge we were on our way. Great views points on the way up. Neat to see the areas of regrowth coming back after a previous fire. The views of Diablo are unmatched. A great easy hike with an awesome payoff.

Nice short hike to some beautiful views. Trail head is well marked and can be accessed from north Colonial Creek Campground area. There is parking on Route 20, but that filled up pretty fast and there is also parking across the road in the south campground area. Trail is very nice and well maintained. There are a lot of benches all along the trail. We hiked midday in order to eat lunch at the top, there were a lot of people on the trail, but we were able to find a quiet spot to eat at the top. Bug repellent was necessary.

While family camping at Colonial Creek, we decided to give some of the grandchildren their first experience of a "hike with elevation", so we chose Thunder Knob. It was a warm (low 80's) late morning, but the trail was in good shape (two step-over logs) and there was enough shade to keep things comfortable. The three youngest (4, 4, and 6) made it past the viewpoint at 1 mile and on to the pond (later a marsh?) at about 1.5 miles, but at that point their legs and patience wore out. After checking out the pond for tadpoles and dragonflies, and stoking up on snacks and water, Herself and the two Moms took those three back down to camp and lunch. (If only we knew how close we were!). The 8 year old and his Dad joined me on the final 0.3 mile and bit of elevation gain, and the wide views were worth every bit of the effort. The first viewpoint (off to the left) has the best views; the second one (straight ahead) overlooks Thunder Arm of Diablo Lake, but there are trees in the views and scrambling down for unobstructed views is a bit tricky.

650 feet gain turned out to be a bit much for short legs on their first attempt, but we'll all make it next year!

Nice trail with beautiful views. Trail is not quite as easy as the description states. I brought along my less agile parents and they struggled first with the initial river crossing (crossing of logs and stepping on rocks) and then with the fairly constant (albeit traversing) uphill on the first half of the climb. But an easy trail for the fit and more sprightly!

Two logs were down across the trail. 

I arrived at Colonial Creek Campground the day before, I slept in later than intended, but I still hit the trail early enough to beat the rush. I had the trail to myself as I worked my way up the switchbacks through the lush forest. The forest opens up and becomes exposed to the sun for the last half of this hike. Bring sunblock or a hat. The first overlook provided a great view of Colonial Peak. Hiking on, through the dry pine, dropping down around a small pond and then up again to the last lookout, I heard buzzing of flies but was not bothered by them. Making it to the end I saw the bright blue Diablo Lake below. I sat in the shade before heading back down, passing at least 10 groups of hikers. This is a very popular trail!