Went and hiked Mt Diablo State Park via Mountaire Pkway in Clayton. My four-year-old was a trailblazer and lead the way. She picked all the turns and felt so empowered. Discovered hiking around 2/3 pm to be a fantastic time to see wildlife this time of year! We saw a bobcat, many turkeys, two coyotes, and... a horse! She was over-the-moon when the horse and her owner came trotting up!
Stroller Friendly: the higher you go, the narrower the trail. Large paths are friendly to a degree, but can offer some serious mud (especially as it continues to rain). I tend to leave my stroller in the car for this trail during this time of year.
Cost: Free
Parking: End of Mountaire Pkwy has a short distance for parallel parking. On a weekday at this time, I don’t know you’d have trouble, but hitting this trail on a weekend can be really difficult with parking. There is also parking on Regency Drive across from Mountaire, but with parking restrictions, it can be quite difficult.
What to Do: With so much wildlife around, it’s easy to spot coyote scat on the trail and animal prints in the mud (see pictures). Take your little trailblazer on an adventure where they try to find signs of wildlife. We looked for scat, prints and talked about what different animals consume in the wild.
Dogs: Not welcome on this trail. But hey, lead to an awesome conversation on why!
Cell Reception: Never had an issue!
