Save Mount Diablo will expand its free Discover Diablo Hikes and Outings Program in 2025, including into areas rarely open to the public.
The nonprofit conservation group’s program offers guided hikes, themed walks, and other outdoor activities like mountain biking, rock climbing, meditation in nature, plein air painting events, bird watching, and property tours.
All Discover Diablo events are free to the public. Trailblazers of all ages and skill levels are welcome to choose appropriate outings from our extensive offerings.
Save Mount Diablo is offering 38 excursions in 2025 to keep up with the consistently growing demand. The ever-popular tarantula walk will be offered twice.
In 2025, the group will host a new stargazing event with the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society; a photography hike in Pinnacles National Park during which attendees will search for California condors, and an LGBTQIA+ hike with Branching Out Adventures.
“We’re excited to bring more groups of people outside into the Diablo Range through these new partnerships,” Save Mount Diablo said in a statement.
There will also be trail dedications at the new trail connections Save Mount Diablo opened in late 2024 on Curry Canyon Ranch, opening miles of connecting trails around Mount Diablo State Park.
Connecting with conservation
The Discover Diablo program began in 2017 to connect local communities to the spectacular natural world of the Mount Diablo area and to build awareness about land conservation.
Hikes and outings take place at Save Mount Diablo’s conserved properties or on park lands in the Diablo Range.
These areas include Mount Diablo State Park, East Bay Regional Park District, Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation, Contra Costa Water District, Stanislaus County Parks, and National Park Service lands.
Discover Diablo hikes are guided by local experts steeped in the natural history and lore of the region, who both educate and entertain while emphasizing the breathtaking beauty that the Diablo Range has to offer.
Save Mount Diablo said it hopes the Discover Diablo series will spark a passion for the Diablo Range and deepen people’s connections to the land and nature.
“It is the goal of the Discover Diablo program to build connections between people, Save Mount Diablo, and the land, helping our communities develop a strong sense of place and a deepened appreciation for our collective backyard,” said Ted Clement, Executive Director of Save Mount Diablo, in a statement. “Most importantly, we want to cultivate a love of the land in participants, as that is what it will take to ensure the precious Diablo natural areas are taken care of for generations to come.”
RSVPs are required to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend. Registration for hikes and outings will open one month prior to each hike’s date, and registration for early outings is already open.
See the schedule of upcoming hikes and outings as well as RSVP online on Save Mount Diablo’s website. You can also download and print a flyer of the schedule.
The 2025 Discover Diablo free public hike series will begin Jan. 25 with a Landscape and Wildlife Photography hike at Pinnacles National Park — a 5-mile excursion with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. For those seeing a less strenuous adventure, that same day will feature Dr. Mary Bowerman’s 117th Birthday hike at Mount Diablo State Park. That one is a mile in length on mostly flat terrain.
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