Mount Diablo State Park encompasses 20,000 acres of protected wilderness within San Francisco's East Bay. The Eagle Peak - Mitchell Canyon Loop scales Eagle Peak via Mitchell Canyon, then down the Eagle Peak Trail back to Mitchell Canyon trailhead. The loop can be strenuous, especially in warmer weather.

Eagle Peak is visible throughout the hike and is the promontory of Diablo

Views to the north down Mitchell Canyon - from Mitchell Canyon Road

The final ascent to Eagle Peak crosses a narrow saddle before climbing its exposed southern face

The lower elevations of Mitchell Canyon follow verdant Mitchell Creek

Wild turkey are often spotted in the open meadows along Mitchell Canyon Road

This coast live oak is the Bicentennial Tree and is over 200 years old - It was selected by the Daughters of the American Revolution to commemorate the bicentennial of the US Constitution

A brush rabbit finds shade along the edge of Mitchell Canyon Road

Mitchell Rock (foreground) is a popular day hike from the Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center

Deer Flat - a great horse camp with picnic tables, hitch racks and a water tank