It was a wet winter, and we were itching to get out at the first sign of
dry weather. We weren't the only ones, as the parking lot was full, and
a dozen cars were already parked on the roadside next to the park.
Round
Top is an ancient volcano. It was active about 10 million years ago, so
you don't have much to worry about. However, be sure to pick up a map at
the visitor's center, as it contains information on the volcanic aspects
of the park. The information is numbered to match signposts along the trail.
We started off on the trail to the right of the visitor's center.
The
trail is really a road at first, climbing relatively steeply. This is one
of the few parks that allows dogs, so we saw several of them at the
beginning of the hike and throughout the day.
The trail levels out as it reaches the first intersection. You can go
either way to do the loop hike; we chose the right fork. Shortly, we came
to a sign pointing to a singletrack trail on the right. We took it into
the forest. The trail was quite muddy but easy to follow. Be sure to
avoid taking the trail to the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, which
veers downhill to the right.
Less than a tenth of a mile past the Huckleberry trail intersection, the trail
reaches a wide dirt road. We turned right and continued along the Round Top
Loop Trail. Eucalyptus trees become dominant here. There are signs of an
old fire here -- I would guess 15 to 20 years ago, based on the height of the
trees, but I could be off. The eucalyptus trees are tall, while there are
bare snags reaching higher still. Also visible are what look like small
pine trees, no more than 3 or 4 feet high.
Trail just north of the burned area
This area extends to a fence where it abruptly ends, the other side of which
has rolling green hills which are used for cattle grazing. Just up the hill
to the left is the summit of Round Top (1763 feet), topped with transmission
towers of all shapes and sizes. To the right are views that open up to the
mountain range topped by Mount Diablo.
The poppies were out in full force at this time. There were no huge displays,
but there were appreciable amounts of bright orange poppies scattered throughout
the green hillsides. There were quite a few people here either stopped to
rest, or for lunch, as we decided on where to stop ourselves. As the wind
whipped around us, we decided to head downhill a bit and stop just above the
quarry.
Our lunch spot was close to the fenced lookout point above the quarry, signed
with a big number 4. As we enjoyed the bright sunshine and views, lots of
other hikers came and went, as well as several dogs. The views from here
aren't as nice as from where we'd just been, but it's quite a bit less
windy.
Labyrinth in the quarry
After lunch, we went to the viewpoint overlooking the quarry. At the bottom
of the small quarry is a labyrinth, probably constructed by locals in the
1980s for reasons only known to the builders. Apparently, there are
several labyrinths in the park, but the one in the quarry is the largest.
We turned around and turned left, down the trail to the labyrinth. Along the
trail I noticed both poppies and lupine. The labyrinth itself is just wide enough for one person to walk
in. Parts of it were quite muddy so we had to "cheat" to reach the center.
Hikers in the labyrinth
A closer look at the labyrinth
After pondering the labyrinth, we headed back up the trail, then turned
right to continue the Round Top Loop. Instead of immediately heading
back to the trailhead, we continued straight onto the Volcanic Trail.
After about three-tenths of a mile, we reached another, smaller quarry,
and another, smaller labyrinth. We then turned around, noted the nice
views of Mt. Diablo to the left, and then retraces our steps back to the
Round Top Loop Trail. We then turned right onto the Round Top Loop Trail
to head back to the trailhead.
The smaller labyrinth
The rolling green hills give way to brush and trees. After crossing a cattle
gate, we turned right onto the middle trail, all of which head back to the
parking lot. It was here that I noticed a rabbit bouncing into the bushes.
The other main wildlife I had seen were a few raptors flying above while we
ate lunch.
Very shortly we arrived back at the parking lot. This is a pretty short
hike. Other than the labyrinths, there's not much out of the ordinary.
There are some nice views and rolling green hills, but other parks are
better in this regard (such as Las Trampas or Briones). However, if you're
local to the area, or have a dog, then you'll want to check this park out.
We saw plenty of both (locals and dogs).
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