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See map, below TRAILHEAD KEY DIFFICULTY DISTANCE 4 Easy/Peasy <1 mile Mary Bowerman Trail 5 RATING: Easy TRAILHEAD: Access on north side of road beside small picnic site where Summit Road splits into two one-way routes just past exit to Lower Summit Parking Lot. Drinking water and toilets at lower summit parking lot. Less than a one mile flat loop trail encircling TRAIL STATISTICS: the summit of the mountain. Allow half hour without stops. The first one third is paved and is ADA accessible up to the Ransome Point overlook. DESCRIPTION: This easy trail offers spectacular views as well as a journey through time. Discover how nature has created and altered this peak. There are 14 stops, following the Mary Bowerman Trail Guide (PDF) which can be obtained at the Summit Visitor Center or picked up at the trailhead. This will guide you through the diverse flora, fauna, geology and weather which embraces Mt. Diablo's summit. You will be introduced to chamise, yerba santa, California native juniper, scrub oak and poison oak. Being careful not to step on the sagebrush lizard as you skirt the summit, you'll come across Devil's Pulpit, a great red-colored monolith, made of chert. Greenstone, an altered submarine volcanic rock laid down on the ocean floor, over 100 million years ago, is the most common rock exposed on the summit of the mountain. Banded red chert, blocky greywacke sandstone and patches of shale are also present along the route.

Wildflower Mount Diablo Most Beautiful Jewelflower Scientific Name: Streptanthus glandulosus ssp. glandulosus Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard Family) Blooms: March - May Color: Red-Pink Annual herb Native This plant is rare in Mount Diablo State Park. See full list Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Jenn Roe Mike Woodring

Violet-green Swallow Swallows and Larks Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina Summer Swallows and Larks Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald A bird of open spaces, open woodlands, and mountain canyons; often seen farther from water than Tree Swallow . Dark, purplish- or violet-green on upperparts. White on side of cheek extends above eye (compare with Tree Swallow). Also note that outer edges of rump are white (visible from above on flying birds). May breed in small colonies. Nests in natural or man-made cavities, including tree cavities, nest boxes, rock crevices, and abandoned woodpecker holes. Eats insects taken in flight.

Wildflower Mount Diablo Van Houtte's Columbine, Stream Columbine Scientific Name: Aquilegia eximia Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family) Blooms: May-Oct Color: Red-Pink Perennial herb Native, endemic to California Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald

Mary Bowerman Trail by J. Frank Valle-Riestra Reproduced from Mountain News Spring/Summer 2014 May 1, 2014 Mike Woodring In 2024 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. One of the first major projects undertaken by the infant association was a survey of the park’s trails network. Small groups of dedicated hiker-environmentalists spread out over the far reaches of the park as it was in the mid-’70s, assessing the existing trails and recommending new trails. One recommendation was construction of what is now known as the Mary Bowerman Trail. The summit of the main peak was a primary destination of the visiting public, but no trails were there for visitors to experience close contact with the mountain’s exceptional natural environment. The first step was to lay out a possible route. Surveys of the topography revealed that a logical circuit of the summit region could be visualized with no anticipated damage to plant life and geological formations. The circuit was to be fairly level, along a contour line, with an overall distance of about a mile. Full of enthusiasm, our little band of interpreters marked the route with wooden stakes with red ribbons. We came back a few days later to find almost all of the stakes gone! So back we went and repeated our layout. A couple of days later, the same thing! And then it dawned on us. This was not the work of vandals, it was the work of animals (raccoons? skunks?) resenting this intrusion into their homeland. This was one of many delays; some, as expected, came as a result of environmental reviews by the Department of Parks and Recreation in Sacramento. Finally, with preliminary approval, Park Ranger Dick VanEtta single-handedly constructed a primitive path along the proposed circuit, in just a few days. But all in vain. For it was August of 1977, and soon after VanEtta’s efforts, lightning struck on Twin Peaks, and the resulting fire roared upward toward the summit. The summit buildings were saved, but the fire destroyed the plants on the north-facing slopes below, as well as vestiges of the new trail. The Bay Area was stunned by the damage to the park, and money poured in to help regeneration, along with suggestions which simply proved that many kind-hearted people did not understand that post-fire regeneration was best left to nature. Proposals such as aerial scattering of grass seeds, planting of redwood groves, even introducing palm trees were mercifully rejected. But the money was put to good use. The decision was made to build the trail as originally envisioned, through the burnt area, and to dedicate the trail to fire interpretation. After almost five years of planning, a spectacular trail, The Fire Interpretive Trail, was completed in 1982 by a wonderful group of young people from the California Conservation Corps, under the direction of Carlos Espinoza, a dynamo in a wheelchair. A grand trail dedication was held at the trailhead, with lots of visiting celebrities, fluttering flags, and politicians. William Penn Mott Jr., then superintendent of California State Parks, spoke, as did Senator John Nejedly and Mary Leo Bowerman, celebrated botanizer of Mount Diablo. Dr. Bowerman was a founding member of MDIA and co-founder of Save Mount Diablo, our sister organization. Dr. Bowerman passed away in 2005 at the age of 97; The Fire Interpretive Trail was renamed in her honor. Following extensive incineration during the recent Morgan Fire, the trail continues to serve as a fire interpretive trail, to allow the public to monitor post-fire recovery of the plant communities over the coming years. Ironically, Dr. Bowerman did not originally favor a trail through the area. She was afraid, with some justification, that the construction effort and large visitor volume would impact the fragile plant life. Fortunately, rare and sensitive plants such as Bitterroot (Lewisia Redidiva) have fared well. The trail has been developed as a nature trail, and numbered posts refer to some highlights listed in a brochure available in a box at the trailhead. The 0.7-mile loop is no great challenge to the dedicated hiker, but with the help of the trail brochure, it offers an unusual range of discoveries. There is actually much more to see than the described features at the numbered posts, and close observation rewards you with some surprises. For instance, upon reaching the wooden platform called “The Bridge”, you might notice in the lower right corner a textbook example of a geological nonconformity. This is a phenomenon of two different rock types (in this case, shale and greenstone) being joined together along a seam. This kind of sudden change implies that the two rock types, formed separately perhaps millions of years apart, were squeezed and rubbed together by displacement forces, such as the upward thrust of the mountain’s piercement structure. On the trail’s southern rocky section, look for evidence of “slickensides”, highly polished surfaces formed by friction between rock masses moving relative to one another. During the spring months, be on the lookout for some unusual wildflowers. Just beyond The Bridge, at the point where the trail turns sharply toward the east, you pass a cherty scree slope on your right. Close inspection of the loose rocks will reveal the presence of small plants struggling to come to the surface, in the shape of small green spiders about the size of a tarantula. These are examples of Bitterroot, and if you are lucky, you will be there to welcome the spectacular white blooms. Other flowers worthy of attention: Brewer’s Rock Cress, seemingly growing out of the rock, in greenstone crevices in the cliff behind The Bridge. Astounding fields of pink Claytonia smothering an expanse of broken chert just before you reach the short side trail to Devil’s Pulpit. The side trail is often graced in June with Mariposa Lilies, and miniature Penstemon fight to survive at the base of the Devil’s Pulpit monolith, a favorite climbing rock. Ah, there are so many wonderful things to see on this trail, which, along with MDIA, has now been with us some fifty years. After parking your car at the lower summit parking lot, walk up a few steps to the trailhead, at the bottom of the steep one-way road leading to the summit. A clockwise circuit is recommended; you will finish your hike just across the road from the trailhead. Enjoy and celebrate! Mary Bowerman Interpretive Trail Guide Check out more Spring Wildflower Hikes: Globe Lily Trail Springtime in North Peak Black Point Trail Mary Bowerman Trail Map by Kevin Hintsa Mary Bowerman Trail Fire Recovery BACK TO LIST

Wildflower Mount Diablo California Buckeye, Buckeye Tree Scientific Name: Aesculus californica Family: Sapindaceae Blooms: May - Jun Color: White Tree Native, endemic to California Candles of white flowers appear in late spring and early summer. The fruit, a little larger than a golf ball, was used by Tribal Natives to stupefy fish in creeks and streams. Buckeye graces canyon bottoms throughout the foothills. Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring

Wildflower Mount Diablo Serpentine Bedstraw, Phlox-leafed Bedstraw Scientific Name: Galium andrewsii ssp. gatense Family: Rubiaceae (Madder Family) Blooms: Jun Color: Yellow-Orange Perennial herb Native, endemic to California California Rare Plant Rank: 4.2 (limited distribution ). This plant is rare in Mount Diablo State Park. See full list Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring

Wildflower Mount Diablo Big Berry Manzanita, Great-berried Manzanita Scientific Name: Arctostaphylos glauca Family: Ericaceae (Heath Family) Blooms: Nov - Mar Color: White Tree or shrub Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring

Wildflower Mount Diablo Rock Sanicle Scientific Name: Sanicula saxatilis Family: Apiaceae (Parsley-Carrot Family) Blooms: Apr - May Color: Yellow-Orange Perennial herb Native, endemic to California California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere ). This plant is rare in Mount Diablo State Park. See full list Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Kevin Hintsa

Wildflower Mount Diablo Mariposa Lily, Butterfly Tulip Scientific Name: Calochortus venustus Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family) Blooms: May - Jul Color: White Perennial herb Native Found on grassy hillsides, favoring rocky areas; tolerates all exposures; 750 feet to summit. Look for them in Mitchell Canyon and Donner Canyon. Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Kevin Hintsa

Wildflower Mount Diablo Spearleaf Agoseris Scientific Name: Agoseris retrorsa Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Blooms: April Color: Yellow-Orange Perennial herb Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Steven Beatty Steven Beatty Leaf detail

Wildflower Mount Diablo Elegant Clarkia, Canyon Clarkia Scientific Name: Clarkia unguiculata Family: Onagraceae (Evening Primrose Family) Blooms: Apr - Jun Color: Red-Pink Annual herb Native, endemic to California Found throughout Mitchell Canyon, elegant clarkia, along with other members of the evening primrose family has 4 petals and exhibits ovaries that occur well beow the flower on the stem. Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring