Location: Mount Diablo State Park
Route: From the Lower Rock City parking area, take the Madrone Canyon Trail down in to Madrone Canyon. Continue past Devil's Slide Trail to Sycamore Creek Road. Turn Right on to Sycamore Creek Road, and follow to the end. Return back up the same way, turning Left on to Madrone Canyon Trail and back to the parking area.
Mileage: 4.74 Miles, 738 feet elevation gain. The halfway point is the lowest point in the hike, and you'll be climbing the entire way back.
Difficulty Level: Moderate, for the climb.
Description: In the winter, a walk along creeks and streams is refreshing and enjoyable. Add madrone, and giant mossy boulders with native grinding holes, and it's a robust experience. Starting from the Rock City parking area, the initial climb down Madrone Canyon Trail winds under overhanging boulders and past the Boy Scout Rocks, a climbing space in the park. Madrone Canyon is about halfway up the mountain. Great views of this space, including the rock climbing, can be found from Camp Force Overlook at Curry Point. The hike down Madrone Canyon Trail is filled with oaks, bays, madrone and flickering ferns. Sycamore creek is filled with boulders that have tumbled down from above over millennia. At the intersection with Sycamore road, lace lichen hangs in oaks and sycamores. Descending Sycamore Creek Road, the trail travels along the creek. Massive sandstone boulders tower above the trail. The holes in them are caused by water, over many years, penetrating the rock and opening cracks. Wind and blowing sand can enlarge these holes. Trailside, buckeyes glow especially green in late winter/early spring. The route ends at the housing development. Return the same way. The return is a total climb, but the climb brings welcome pauses to observe and breath in refreshing forest air.
Trail Map
Trailhead and Parking: Enter through the South Gate of Mount Diablo State Park. Park at Lower Rock City parking area. Park fee applies.

Madrone Canyon Trail, Sycamore Creek Road

Scenes from the hike: