East Bay, CA –

You can’t miss Mt. Diablo when traveling on the East Side of the Bay Area, the largest geographic landmark in the region. Before I became paralyzed I was a frequent hiker at Mt. Diablo and know there are endless trails to explore on every side of the mountain. Now, I am on a quest to find at least one trail that is suitable for a wheelchair traveler.

At the top of Mt. Diablo when entering through the South Gate is the Summit Museum, which opened in the 1930s and chronically explores the history and geological forces of this mountain. It is open daily from 10am-4pm. The drive to the top alone is incredible; most of the time the road hugs the very edge of the ever growing cliff of the mountain (see photos below). Once at the top, you’ll fine a paved parking lot, handicapped parking, ramps into the museum, and accessible restrooms.

Government websites for such regional parks are pretty far from helpful. After searching for a while, navigating through page after page, I finally found the link for more information on wheelchair access. And so I click on the link only to find that the parking lot is wheelchair accessible, duh! Well, what about the trail? Unfortunately, because such parks (and websites) are ran by the government, a park can only be deemed “wheelchair accessible” if the trail is paved. However, for those of us adventurous wheelchair users who are not afraid for a challenge and to get a little dirty (why else would you go for a hike?), we know that there are some “natural” paths that are suitable to roll over as long as they are hard enough not to sink your wheels.

So on the behalf of wheelchairtraveling.com, we are reaching out to the wheelchair community, asking where have you been that is somewhat accessible for at least some part of the trail? Where can we send one of our wheelchair travelers to? Please send us an email, respond directly to this post in the comment box below, or write us your Travel Stories on Mt. Diablo.

I hope there is an accessible trail at Mt. Diablo… the search continues!

Wheelchair Traveling Guides: CA Parks
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