Save Mount Diablo Expands Its Free Discover Diablo Hikes and Outings Program for 2025

A line of happy hikers outside waving to the camera
Discover Diablo participants enjoying a Discover Diablo hike at Save Mount Diablo’s Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve. Photo by Ted Clement

CONTRA COSTA, STANISLAUS, AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES—Explore some of the East Bay’s premiere hiking and natural areas with Save Mount Diablo in 2025, including places rarely open to the public.

The Discover Diablo outings series offers guided hikes, themed walks, and other outdoor activities: mountain biking, rock climbing, meditation in nature, plein air painting events, bird watching, and property tours.

All Discover Diablo events are free to the public. Trailblazers of all ages and skill levels are welcome to choose appropriate outings from our extensive offerings.

Save Mount Diablo is offering a total of 38 excursions in 2025 to keep up with the consistently growing demand for its outings. The ever-popular tarantula walk will be offered twice.

In 2025, we will be hosting a new stargazing event with the Mount Diablo Astronomical Society; a photography hike in Pinnacles National Park, where attendees will search for California condors; and an LGBTQIA+ hike with Branching Out Adventures.

We’re excited to bring more groups of people outside into the Diablo Range through these new partnerships.

This year, there will also be trail dedications at the new trail connections Save Mount Diablo opened in late 2024 on Curry Canyon Ranch, opening miles of connecting trails around Mount Diablo State Park.

A smiling group of hikers toast a ribbon-cutting on a sunny green hillside

Discover Diablo hikers make a toast at a property dedication at Save Mount Diablo’s Krane Pond property. Photo by Laura Kindsvater

The Discover Diablo program began in 2017 to connect local communities to the spectacular natural world of the Mount Diablo area and to build awareness about land conservation.

Hikes and outings take place at Save Mount Diablo’s conserved properties or on park lands in the Diablo Range.

These lands include Mount Diablo State Park, East Bay Regional Park District, Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation, Contra Costa Water District, Stanislaus County Parks, and National Park Service lands.

Discover Diablo hikes are guided by local experts steeped in the natural history and lore of the region, who both educate and entertain while emphasizing the breathtaking beauty that the Diablo Range has to offer.

Save Mount Diablo hopes the Discover Diablo series will spark a passion for the Diablo Range and deepen people’s connections to the land and nature.

Ted Clement, Executive Director of Save Mount Diablo, stated, “It is the goal of the Discover Diablo program to build connections between people, Save Mount Diablo, and the land, helping our communities develop a strong sense of place and a deepened appreciation for our collective backyard. Most importantly, we want to cultivate a love of the land in participants, as that is what it will take to ensure the precious Diablo natural areas are taken care of for generations to come.”

There is something right for anyone to discover in the nooks and crannies on and surrounding Mount Diablo and within its sustaining Diablo Range, so be sure to hit the trails in 2025 and find your own individual inspiration!

RSVPs are required. To ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend, registration for hikes and outings will open one month prior to each hike’s date, and registration for early outings is already open.

See our schedule of upcoming hikes and outings; view and RSVP online on Save Mount Diablo’s website.

You can also download and print a flyer of the schedule here: http://bit.ly/DiscoverDiablo.

Summary: CONTRA COSTA, STANISLAUS, AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES—Discover Diablo is Save Mount Diablo’s free public hikes and outings series, offering an annual schedule of guided walks; hikes; and rock-climbing, mountain-biking, meditation, stargazing, photography, bird-watching, and plein air painting outings open to all trailblazers.

The 2025 Discover Diablo free public hike series will begin January 25. Discover Diablo offers 38 events throughout 2025—either taking place on a Save Mount Diablo property or hosted on a public agency’s land.

Join Save Mount Diablo in exploring some of the Diablo Range’s most beautiful wild lands and open spaces.

Who: Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited nonprofit land trust founded in 1971. Our mission is to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, and watersheds; and its sustaining Diablo Range, through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide educational and recreational opportunities consistent with protection of natural resources. To learn more, please visit www.savemountdiablo.org.

What: Save Mount Diablo’s 2025 Discover Diablo annual free public hikes and outings program. Discover Diablo, Save Mount Diablo’s series of free guided hikes; walks; and mountain-biking, rock-climbing, meditation, stargazing, photography, bird-watching, and plein air painting outings, shares a taste of Diablo’s wild lands in just a morning, evening, or afternoon.

When: An annual program that will offer 38 free public events in the Diablo Range throughout 2025.

Where: Contra Costa County (Walnut Creek, Clayton, Concord, Dublin, Livermore, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Danville, and San Ramon), Stanislaus County (Patterson), and San Benito County (Hollister, San Juan Bautista).

How: RSVP required on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/discover-diablo-11942856866. To ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend, registration for hikes and other events will open one month prior to each event’s date.

Visit Save Mount Diablo’s website to view the Discover Diablo hikes and outings calendar for a schedule of upcoming events: https://savemountdiablo.org/what-we-do/educating-and-inspiring-people/discover-diablo-hikes-outings/

Why: In support of Save Mount Diablo’s mission, the Discover Diablo free public hikes and outings program seeks to build awareness of local land conservation efforts and convey the importance of protecting open space for habitat and recreation. We intend to reach audiences from all over the Bay Area.

Image Credits and Captions:

  • Photo at top: Discover Diablo participants enjoying a Discover Diablo hike at Save Mount Diablo’s Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve. Photo by Ted Clement
  • Second photo: Discover Diablo hikers make a toast at a property dedication at Save Mount Diablo’s Krane Pond property. Photo by Laura Kindsvater

High-resolution photos are available upon request. Contact lkindsvater@savemountdiablo.org.

 

Questions about hike program details and RSVP information:

Kendra Smith, Education & Outreach Coordinator, Save Mount Diablo

C: 925-286-9327, ksmith@savemountdiablo.org

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Laura Kindsvater, Senior Communications Manager

C: 925-451-8376, lkindsvater@savemountdiablo.org

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