Many visitors to Mount Diablo head straight for the Summit to enjoy the famous view. As mountains go, Mount Diablo isn't particularly tall - only 3,849 feet. However, it is surrounded by low, rolling hills and broad, flat valleys, so the view from the Summit is remarkable. When conditions are best, you can see almost 200 miles. Summer days are sometimes hazy, and the best viewing is often on the day after a winter storm. Then, you can look to the west, beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Farallon Islands; southeast to the James Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton at 4,213 feet elevation; south to Mount Loma Prieta in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3,791 feet elevation, north to Mount Saint Helena in the Coast Range at 4,344 feet elevation, and still farther north to Lassen Peak in the Cascades at 10,466 feet. North and east of Mount Diablo the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta. To the east beyond California's great central valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. All in all, you can see over 40,000 square miles and parts of 35 of California's 58 counties from the Summit of Mount Diablo.
