Mission Peak, the iconic East Bay Summit looms over the Bay Area.  The standard hike up to the summit is a Bay Area Classic, and while it’s a good hike, it’s super busy, and it feels like there could be more.

Enter this hike: a route up nearby Monument Peak which connects to Mission Peak via a much less busy trail across the ridge.  The trail to Monument Peak is steep no doubt, but so is the standard route up Mission Peak!  You may not have heard of it, but Monument Peak makes for a great addition to a Mission Peak hike!

Miles/Elevation:

12.6 miles

2,877 feet vertical gain

About Ed R Levin County Park:

Ed Levin County Park includes roughly 1,600 acres of land in Santa Clara County.  This park is largely designed for picnicking and general outdoor enjoyment; hiking really isn’t the focus.  There is a small lake for fishing, extensive picnicking areas, an off leash dog park, and a small set of hiking trails.  Monument Peak, which overlooks Santa Clara Valley, is the highlight of the park’s hiking.

About Mission Peak Regional Preserve:

Located immediately east of the city of Fremont, Mission Peak Regional Preserve is one of the most popular, and most iconic hiking destinations in the entire Bay Area.  Including and centered around the 2,500 foot plus Mission Peak, this preserve is an extremely popular hiking destination, and a summit of Mission Peak is seen as a hiking right of passage in the South Bay!

The preserve contains just over 3,000 acres centered around Mission Peak itself.  Many of the trails in the park are centered around and lead towards the summit, but there are multiple other loops and hikes you can do.  

Mission Peak Preserve can be accessed from a number of different trailheads and parking lots.  The most popular for a summit of Mission Peak proper is at Stanford Ave.  This parking lot fills up extremely early, and parking often spills into the neighborhood streets.  The preserve’s other main trailhead is located at the edge of Ohlone College; however, ambitious hikers can also hike in from Sunol Regional Wilderness, Ed R. Levin Park, and more!

Getting To The Trailhead:

From wherever you are in the Bay Area, take I-680 to Milpitas.  Once in Milpitas, exit onto East Calaveras Blvd.  Continue on E Calaveras towards and then into the hills as it turns into Calaveras Road.  

Just under 2 miles after leaving 680, turn left onto Downing Road where it splits with Calaveras.  Continue straight through the park entrance, where you’ll need to pay the $6 parking fee (as of 2023), up past Sandy Wool Lake, and then park in the large parking lot near the lake.

Tips:

• Hike the loop portion of this trail counterclockwise.  
• The trails on the lower slopes of Monument Peak are a bit overgrown.
• Only hike on cool days.  There is almost no shade.

The Monument And Mission Peak Hike:

To Monument Peak:

From the parking lots near the lake, hike up past the dog park, and then begin on the Tularcitos Trail.  This trail heads more or less straight east for about a quarter of a mile along an overgrown former dirt road.  After a quarter mile, take a hard left to continue on the Agua Caliente Trail.

The Agua Caliente Trail will continue the climbing that you started on the Tularcitos Trail.  The grade early on is gentle, but don’t worry, it will be seriously steep later!

Soon after starting on the Agua Caliente Trail, I encountered tall bushes with bright yellow flowers.  I hiked here in early May, so it was probably just about peak flower season, but man there were a lot.  I could see them blanketing the hillsides as I drove to the trailhead, and now I was in them!

As nice as it was to be hiking through fields of flowers, it was a bit annoying because they were taking over the trail.  The Agua Caliente Trail is very overgrown for long stretches, especially on the lower slopes, and while I was never crawling through bushes, it was definitely annoying.

Eventually though, you will climb above the worst of the overgrowth as you continue ascending towards the peak.  The views over San Jose and Milpitas start excellent, and are continuously great all the way to the summit.  These views are only broken up by small stands of trees, often clustered around little streams.  

The higher you climb, the steeper the trail gets, and at times it really feels like you’re just going straight up a mountain.  And as you approach the summit of Monument Peak, you will literally go straight up the peak.  The final 200+ feet to the summit follows a fence line literally straight up.  It’s a tough finish after an already long climb, but to me it’s preferable to following the winding Monument Peak Trail around to the side and then up!

For more great views of San Jose, head to Monte Bello Open Space Reserve!

After a seriously tough climb, you will be at the summit of Monument Peak!  There is a square concrete pad, and a 100 feet away or so is a small set of rocks which make up the true summit.  The views overlooking the South Bay and east towards the Sunol Wilderness are awesome!  I took my time here and enjoyed the views.  I had earned it!

To Mission Peak:

When you’re ready, continue on to Mission Peak!  The trail from Monument Peak to Mission Peak is pretty cool, and is definitely the best part of the day.  Begin by dropping off the north side of Monument Peak following the obvious gravel road.

Mt Umunhum is another awesome summit opportunity in nearby Sierra Azul with great South Bay views!

There is actually quite a bit happening up here, and while I thought this would be a fairly exposed ridgewalk, you are never really on a ridge looking down to your left and right.  On the right, there are some small hills before the hillside drops down towards the Calaveras Reservoir and the Sunol Wilderness.  On the left hills and the off limits Mt Allison block the view towards the bay.

It’s too bad Mt Allison is off limits because it would be cool to link up the three peaks on this ridge, but oh well!  The trail passes beneath Allisons eastern slope through a wide open grassy meadow.  There are lots of cell or TV towers up here, and there were herds of cows grazing as well.

The trail between the peaks is much easier than the climb up, which is more than welcome.  There is a bit of undulation, but really there isn’t anything close to strenuous until you are on the Mission Peak summit ridge.

Speaking of Mission Peak, after passing Mt Allison, Mission Peak will quickly come into view.  Keep following the gravel roads towards Mission, and then you will be on it!

For the best Bay Area hike, check out this route form Muir Woods to the summit of Mt Tamalpais!

The climb up Mission Peaks south ridge is a straightforward rocky hike up.  No scrambling is required, though the trail is rougher than what you’ll have encountered so far.  This south ridge is far less traveled than the standard north ridge, so hopefully you won’t be tripping over anyone either!  Then, after just under 200 feet of climbing up the ridge, you will arrive at the summit of Mission Peak!

Mission Peak is one of the Bay Area’s iconic hikes, and it’s for good reason.  It has a legitimate summit ridge, which is relatively rare around here.  It isn’t huge, but it feels like a bigger mountain.  The views are also awesome.  To the east, the Sunol Wilderness and the rolling east Bay Hills dominate, and to the west is the bulk of the Bay Area.  Looking north and south you can see far up and down the ridges of the East Bay Hills!

I did this hike on May 4th, a day before Cinco de Mayo, and while it was a weekday, the summit was still pretty busy.  The famous pillar near the summit was draped in the Mexican flag, and there was a festive vibe at the top.  This summit is crawling with people on pretty much any weekend day, so this was actually the quietest I had seen it!

Hiking Down:

To return to the trailhead, hike back down the south ridge of Mission Peak.  It would actually be pretty cool to do a point to point hike and hike straight down Mission Peak, but I needed to return to my car at Ed Levin!

Once you’re off the ridge, hike back through the rolling hills below Mt Allison.  The trail here undulates, so there is a small amount of climbing on the way back.  It’s not much at all, but if you have tired legs from the 2,500 feet or so of climbing so far, you might feel those small bits of ascending!

Help keep this place beautiful.  Follow Leave No Trace!

Once back near Monument Peak, take a right at the intersection just in front of Monument Peak.  Veering left would take you back to the summit of Monument.  Continuing straight leads back down the Monument Peak trail you took up.  But you should take a right for a new route down.

Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!

After following the gravel road to one final cell/TV tower, the road mostly disappears.  There is still kind of a road here, but it definitely is not maintained.  The gravel roads that are in use are actually very nice.  This one however is some rough dirt overgrown with plants.

You certainly wouldn’t want to drive on this, but for hiking it wasn’t bad.  I would have preferred a nicely maintained trail or road, but it generally wasn’t too awful.  It was pretty rough though where there had been landslides.  

With the massive amounts of rainfall we had in 2023, the ground had given out and numerous small landslides covered the road.  They had mostly dried, but cows clearly walked through here when it was wet, so the mud dried into very rough patterns from all the hooves!

You will continue descending steeply as you make your way back down to Ed Levin Park.  Eventually you will reach the bottom, and you’ll have a flat final mile back to the parking lot.  Bits of this last mile were overgrown with the same yellow flowers as before, but by now I was used to it!  After passing through the flowers and hiking along some paved roads and trails for the final few minutes, I was back at my car having summited two of the Bay Area’s most prominent peaks!

Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10

As far as Bay Area hikes go, this is a really good one, but it doesn’t quite hold up when compared to trails in the big mountains.  The views are consistently good, but not great.  You reach two prominent summits, but they aren’t really legit mountains.  The trail quality is either not great or a literal road.

I wish the Bay Area had better constructed trails, because if there was a well constructed trail that made its way up the mountain, it would be so much better than the straight up hill trails that actually exist!  This is a good hike, but at 12 miles, there are much better ones to be found in the big mountains.

By the way, if you are looking for a quieter and more unique Mission Peak hike, this might be it!

Pros:

• Start to finish big time views
• Multiple summits
• Less crowded way up Mission Peak

Cons:

• Steep trails right up hills
• Sections of overgrown trail
• Continuous sun exposure 
• Lots of infrastructure, never feels remote
• Lots of road walking

Alternative Hikes:

Mission Peak

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Loop

Dipsea Trail From Stinson Beach To Muir Woods

Alamere Falls 

When To Hike Monument And Mission Peak:

The Bay Area is a 4 season destination, and the weather year round is suitable for hiking.  In the summer and early fall expect high temperatures, often uncomfortably high.  In winter and spring, there is a chance of rain, but most days should still be sunny and in the 50’s or 60’s.  In my opinion, the best time to visit is winter or spring.  In addition to the cooler temperatures, the hills are the greenest following the winter rains!

Keep in mind that this hike has very little tree cover, and is totally exposed to the sun.  Even if the highs are only in the 60s, you will almost certainly be sweating.  Always bring enough water and take the conditions into consideration when planning a hike.  This hike would be brutal on a hot day!

Links For Further Reading:

Mission Peak from Ed Levin Park: 367 Reviews, Map – California | AllTrails

Monument Peak

Mission Peak to Monument Peak Hiking Trail, Fremont, California

Monument and Mission Peaks – Calipidder