We chose a hot 80+ degree day to venture to the trails on San Bruno Mountain. This is the hill we see with a grouping of transmission towers that the locals affectionately call “NBC Hill”. Wikipedia gives a great description below:
San Bruno Mountain, situated in northern San Mateo County, California, is the northernmost part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Most of the mountain lies within the 2,326 acre (9.41 km²) San Bruno Mountain State Park, which is a landmark of local and regional significance as well as a county park, standing as a unique open-space island in the midst of the San Francisco Peninsula’s urbanization. It is adjacent to the southern boundary of San Francisco, surrounded by the cities of South San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, and Brisbane.
San Bruno Mountain is topped by a four mile long ridge. Trails to the summit afford expansive views of the San Francisco Bay Area. Radio Peak (elevation 1,314 feet or 400.5 meters) is the highest point, hosting several radio broadcast towers and NBC’s KNTV Television, serving a huge area that would otherwise have poor service in the topographically complex Bay Area region.
The mountain provides habitat for several species of rare and endangered plants and butterflies. The endangered San Bruno elfin butterfly inhabits this mountain along with certain other limited locations.
Usually it is really windy and brisk on this mountain. You can see the burned brush from last year’s fires that start up quickly on this dry hill. Not a place to hike in the Summer. As this was a warm Spring day, we got the best of the wildflowers and spotted a few butterflies. The poison oak was in full force but had yet to spread over the trails. We hiked the Summit Loop and then went out to the Peak. At this point we were as far East as we could go and were looking “back” at the City to the North and the Airport to the South. At one point we could see both the Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The views were magnificent. We ended up hiking close to 9 miles roundtrip. The paths and grades were moderate. Remember that we always hike with our Black Diamond Trekking Poles and without them, you might find the hike a bit more strenuous. A memorable hike that we will want to do again next Spring.
San Bruno Mountain Summit Loop Hike from Kathy & Michael Rain on Vimeo.