Climbing Mt. Diablo - Northgate, CA by bike

Climb Summary

Cycling Mt. Diablo - aerial drone pano of north and south gate roads.

Cycling Mt. Diablo: North Gate Road

An East Bay Jewel

Ride 12.4 miles gaining 3,681’ at 5.5% average grade.

Mt. Diablo is the most popular road bike climb in the Bay Area.

There is no missing Mt. Diablo

Photo: Mt. Diablo’s west face as seen from Mt. Tamalpais West Peak

General Information

Mt. Diablo is a very popular State Park in the East Bay that offers many hiking trails, camping options, and excellent views of the Bay Area and east towards the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. It is no coincidence that Diablo is “Devil” in Spanish, an appropriate name for this lengthy and challenging East Bay bike climb.

The summit of Mt. Diablo offers the best full 360° views anywhere in the Bay Area.

Bicycle climb Mt. Diablo - aerial drone panorama photo of visitor center and observation deck

There is a historic beacon tower and museum-like visitor center at this bicycle climb’s finish. According to an article about Mount Diablo’s history and use as an “initial point”, this mountain is “the starting point for the establishment of land boundaries throughout most of Northern California and all of Nevada. The summit is the location of the "Initial Point," the north/south meridian, and east/west baseline intersection point that is the basis for most Northern California and Nevada property boundaries” (read full article here).

Mt. Diablo Visitor Center at the Mountain's Summit:

Cycling Mt. Diablo - cyclist on bike riding past summit sign - visitor center and beacon

Summit sign, Visitor Center parking lot and beacon.

Standard Oil Beacon -- activated 1928; now lit once a year on December 7.

Cycling Visitor Center - Visitor center and historic light beacon

Photos: The observation deck and beacon tower;

Inside the Beacon Tower; and Inside the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center at the summit has candy, liquids and four options of cycling jerseys to purchase (the jersey selection is notable because it’s the largest selection of jerseys in any visitor center we’ve visited in the US, most don’t have even one to choose from).

Both the South and North Gate climbs are broken into two segments - North Gate route:

Segment One - North Gate Road to Summit Road (7.9 / 2,015’ / 5.4%)
Segment Two: Summit Road - 4.5 miles / 1,654’ / 6.7%

The North Gate route to the summit is a bit more difficult to Summit Road than South Gate (7.9 versus 6.1 miles, and 5.4% versus 4.5%) and a bit more exposed with less shade, so beware and come prepared on hot days. As for popularity, South Gate to Junction had 71,790 Strava attempts as of September 1, 2015 versus only 36,589 for the equivalent segment from the north.

Climb Mt. Diablo - North Gate by bike - start of climb - street sign

Start of climb -- North Gate Road and Castle Rock Road.

Cycling Mt. Diablo - North Gate - ranger station and park gate

Enter park at mile 1.4.

Cycling Mt. Diablo - North Gate - aerial drone photo of hairpin turns

North Gate Road from Walnut Creek.

Junction of South and North Gate Roads

There is water at the Junction Ranger Station (mile 7.9 from the north) and at the Summit. Be sure to bear left onto Summit Road at the North and South Gate junction.

Bicycle ride Mt. Diablo - front of Junction Ranger Station

Junction Ranger Station.

Bicycling up Mt. Diablo - water faucet at Junction Ranger Station

Water at Junction Ranger Station.

LAST 4.5 MILES

Cycling Mt. Diablo - Summit Road - road sign for curve - garmin map with hairpins

Winding road after the merge of South/North Gate Roads.

Bicycle ride and climb Mt. Diablo - Summit Road, Visitor Center, Beacon - aerial drone photo

Summit Road leading to Visitor Center and Beacon (view west).

Cycling and riding by bike Mt. Diablo - aerial drone photo of Summit Road, visitor center, beacon and observation deck

Northwesterly view of the summit.

Devil’s Elbow is the hairpin right-center of photo.

Cycling and riding by bike Mt. Diablo - aerial drone photo of Summit Road, visitor center, beacon and observation deck

Devil’s Elbow.

Cycling Mt. Diablo - Shiloh Wind Power Plant as seen from Mt. Diablo observation tower

Northeast view of Shiloh Wind Power Plant -- Birds Landing.

As with the southern approach, the road along the entire ascent from the north is exceptional. Traffic can be heavy on the weekends, but there are so many cyclists and the speed limit so low, this is a very safe climb.

On a crystal clear day, it is reported that one can see the Sentinel Dome in Yosemite (130 miles due east), Mt. Lassen (170 miles north) and the Farallon Islands (60 miles due west) west of the Golden Gate Bridge. For most of the climb, our view is of grasslands with many interspersed valley, blue, and black oak tree varieties. The Climb averages 5.8% and is a very smooth and comfortable ascent (in the 4-7% range, for the most part) save for the last two-tenths mile (“The Wall” -- Strava has it at 0.1 mile, but we charted it closer to 0.2) which averages 15%. Views along the route are to the west and north of the Walnut Creek and San Pablo Bay areas and to the east of the Highway 4 corridor (Pittsburg/Antioch/Brentwood areas) all the way to the western Sierras.

Bicycle ride up Mt. Diablo - Summit Road - Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Tamalpais

Golden Gate Bridge center top

Mt. Tamalpais is the highpoint in the background upper right center.

Mt. Diablo bike climb - summit sign

Exceptional views from the summit.

Roadway Surface and Traffic Report: The roadway surface is exceptional and while there is moderate vehicular traffic along the climb, our experience in five times up Mount Diablo is that traffic travels at or near the posted 20 mph speed limit, making this a very safe route.