Hiking Loma Prieta

Remember the big earthquake in California in 1989? In spite of the fact that the epicenter of that earthquake was near the highest point in the Santa Cruz mountains, its effects were felt as far as San Francisco and Oakland. That peak is called Loma Prieta and that was the destination of yesterday's hike.

The view from the top (Pacific Ocean towards the left)

Although SummitPost has an entry for this peak, I must warn you that Loma Prieta is not really a hikers' mountain. We mostly followed this route for the 12-mile out-and-back hike, but I want to add some more information that may avoid other hikers getting slightly lost, like we did.


Getting there:
While the directions here work, we just used Mapquest to find our way to Uvas Canyon County Park. Take US-101 south to Bailey Road. Go west on Bailey for about 3 miles (you will pass an IBM campus) until you hit a T-junction. Make a left onto McKean road. Follow McKean road for about 6 miles, somewhere along which McKean becomes Uvas Road. Make a right onto Croy Rd. Continue on Croy Road and follow signs for Uvas Canyon County Park (you will pass signs that say "Sveadal" and private property). Pay at the machine, pick up a Park map and park at the day-use parking lot to the right.

VJ's lonely car at the parking lot (circa 8 am)

The Hike (all distances approximate):
- Walk along the paved road and cross a bridge (you can ask for the "Youth Group Area" if you encounter campers or a ranger). After passing an information station on your left, look for a gate that will take you into a campsite. Find the beginning of Knibbs Knob Trail at a gate between campsites 27 and 28.
- The first 2 miles of the hike are STEEP, and being within the confines of the County Park, can be easily followed on the map. The first junction is about 1.5-1.7 miles into the trail, where the Knob Trail takes off to the right. Stay straight to continue on Knibbs Knob Trail. At the two mile point, you cross a gate indicating that you are leaving Uvas Canyon Park and hit Summit Road (aka Mt. Madonna Road).
- Turn right on Summit Road. This is a paved road which is open to traffic, so stay on the left side of the road and watch out. The road does not have much shade, and you will find several private property homes along the way. At some point, you are rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.
- After about 2-2.5 miles on Summit Road, there is an almost-T junction. While Desai tells us to turn right onto Loma Prieta Road, there is no sign to indicate this. One way to confirm that you are at the correct junction is to just pass it, turn around facing the road you just came on, and you will see a iron pillar/post on the roadside saying "Summit Road". It was probably painted "Loma Prieta Road" on the other side at some point, but that is no longer visible. Also, as you turn right, there are signs saying "Authorized or registered vehicles only" or something to that effect. There was no such warning for hikers, so we persisted and followed the road winding up.
- About a mile on this uphill road to reach the base of the peak where there are at least three roads winding eastward to the peak. Do not take the one most to the right (which tends downward), take the one to the left of it, as Desai instructs us to. Now just continue on this road, past a gate and winding upwards until you get to the top (or just ignore the road and scramble up the hill like we did!). Once you see the peak, identified by the many transmission towers and associated ugliness, you don't really have to worry about routes or trails, any way that takes you up is just fine.
- Retrace your steps back to the Uvas Canyon parking lot.

Total mileage: ~12 miles round trip.

Easy way to identify the peak!

What's that? Where did we get lost you ask? It was right at "Loma Prieta Road", where a helpful man told us to turn left (in the opposite direction from what is described above) to get to Loma Prieta. Thankfully, we met a delightful old gentleman in a pickup, who told us more than we needed to get to the peak, and even warned us not to stay too long amidst all those microwaves! Dig that white beard!

What to take:
- Water! I lugged about 2 liters, but ended about using only about 1 liter. The route can get really hot, so to be safe, carry about 2 liters.
- A light snack (or lunch if you like)
- Sunscreen
- Wear hiking boots, some sections of the hike require good grip.
- If you have knees that hurt when coming downhill, I would recommend hiking poles that will help while returning on the very steep portion of Knibbs Knob trail.

Other recent hikes:
Black Mountain at Rancho San Antonio Park
Two Ponds Hike at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

Happy Hiking!