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Mt. Diablo is a good destination in the east bay, on a clear day it's got the second best visibility in the world. You can drive all the way to the top, but there's a lot of fun hiking spots, including a really cool place called rock city.
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The "fact" that Mt Diablo has the 2nd best visibility in the world was actually started by a real estate promooter around 1915. It just isn't tall enough.
I actually grew up right at the base of Mt Diablo and believed this myth until I recently stumbled upon the wikipedia article about the mountain.
There is actually a flower called Mt Diablo buckwheat only found there. It was thought extinct since 1936 but was rediscovered in 2005.
My personal favorite place to hike is Morgan Territory park east of Mt Diablo. There are lots of great trails, it's not very popular and a great place to take your dog for an off leash walk (dont know if it is technically allowed). The road to the park is a great one lane winding road which is a very fun drive, but be careful several people have died plunging off the side of the road.
