Ohlone Wilderness Trail: route guide

The trail runs south to north across the East Bay hills, from the southern end of Del Valle Regional Park near Livermore to the Mission Peak area above Fremont. Most of the middle sits inside Ohlone Regional Wilderness, a roadless block of ridges and canyons with no services.

Two car one direction is the standard trick: leave one vehicle at the Del Valle south staging area and one at the Mission Peak staging area, then walk it once. The Fremont trailhead is roughly 2 miles (3 km) from Warm Springs BART station, so a transit start is possible if you do not mind the road walk.

There is no single official map for the whole route; carry the East Bay Regional Park District trail map for the Ohlone Wilderness plus a phone GPS app with offline tiles. Signage at junctions is decent but not continuous.

The southern start from Del Valle is the gentlest introduction: you climb away from the lake through oak and grassland before the terrain turns serious. Fill water at Del Valle before leaving; this is your last easy tap.

The middle section through Sunol Wilderness and up toward Rose Peak is the part people remember, and the part that hurts. You gain and lose several hundred feet repeatedly, with little shade. Rose Peak itself is not the highest point of the route but it is the psychological halfway mark.

The northern half drops toward Mission Peak, then climbs it. Mission Peak is busy on weekends, so the last hour can feel like a different hike entirely. From the summit the descent to the Fremont staging area is steep and hard on knees; trekking poles earn their weight here.

Spring is the best window: green hills, wildflowers, and daytime temperatures that let you climb without cooking. October and November are the other good window, with cooler air and firmer ground.

June through September is regularly hot, and Sunol Wilderness at low elevation is the worst of it; heat waves there can push past 115 °F (46 °C). If you must go in summer, start before dawn and be off the exposed ridges by midday.

Winter is cold rather than extreme, but rain turns the clay sections slick and the creek crossings higher. Check the East Bay Regional Park District site for closures after storms before you drive out.

Camping inside Ohlone Regional Wilderness is limited and permit-controlled; the usual overnight options are the designated backcountry camps, which need booking ahead through the park district. There is no hotel, lodge or shop on the route.

Before or after the hike, Livermore and Pleasanton on the south side and Fremont on the north side have the full range of motels and hotels, plus easy access to the trailheads by car. Many hikers sleep in Livermore, drive to Del Valle at dawn, and arrange the second car at Mission Peak.

If you are splitting the walk into two days, book the camp first and build the days around it; without a reservation you are looking at a single very long day.

This is a remote route with no reliable water on the ridge, so carry more than you think you need and treat any creek water before drinking. A filter or purification tablets plus a spare bottle is the minimum.

Fill in the sign-in sheets at the permit-required sections. They record your name, start time and destination, and they are how park staff find you if something goes wrong. Stay on the Ohlone Trail, its connector trails, or a campground so a search has a chance.

Watch for rattlesnakes and mountain lions. Make noise on blind corners, keep food sealed, and if you meet a mountain lion, do not run: face it, look large, and back away slowly. Tell someone your plan and expected finish time.