Visiting Mount Umunhum’s Summit Audio Tour – Stories of Mount Umunhum

Ceremonial Summit Shelter Gain Perspective Space Download Information Cold War. The Almaden Air Force Station 3275 2 Enjoy breathtaking 360-degree views of our Call Box permanently closed in 1980 when satellite WEST Cantilever Audio Tour App – Stories of Mount Umunhum region, including San Francisco, Monterey Bay, technology made the radar station here obsolete. SUMMIT 6 Deck Download the Stories of Mount Umunhum Audio the Pacific Ocean, and sometimes even the Some military veterans who worked at the Air 3300 1 Tour to experience a “virtual” guide around the Sierras from ADA-accessible viewpoints. 7 Force Station took their technical skills down Summit at your own pace. Hear how Mount Umunhum the and contributed them to the 3325 Radar Immerse Yourself in Nature Tower 4 ADA-accessible got its name and hear Air Force veterans, Native growth of Silicon Valley. 3 Pathways Americans and others tell their personal stories As the peak was restored, its serpentine geology 3350 4 A Clean Watershed – (Radar Tower East Side) and unique community of plants and animals 3375 about life on the mountain. 3400 Today, the Summit supports a different kind of were revealed. Check out the plant and animal 3425 ADA Parking • Make sure to download the audio tour app 3450 3475 technology that is also serving an important guide in this brochure and see how many you Emergency before your arrival at the Summit due to limited role for people: measuring drinking water. can spot during your visit. Landing Stairs with wireless connectivity. Available free from iTunes Learn how Mount Umunhum is part of a Call Box Zone ADA-accessible Viewing or Google Play stores. Note: cell service may network of weather stations that affect Discover a Rich History Restroom Platforms be unavailable beyond Mt. Umunhum Road. Delve into Mount Umunhum’s fascinating past going 3450 water that eventually comes out of faucets 5 • Follow the stops along the map. Stops can back thousands of years through interpretive Parking Lot in people’s homes in the valley below. nhum Trail Viewpoint be listened to in any order. signs. To enhance your visit, download the free mu 5 Life on the Summit – (East Summit) . U • If you wish to skip ahead, stop the chapter audio tour app. More information is available 3425 t Only) EAST This mountaintop was not an easy place to M ng in the Audio Tour section in this brochure. iki and move on to the next one. live. The high elevation and exposure means (H SUMMIT

it can be baking hot or bitterly cold. Winds Explore New Trails Audio Tour Starts Here can reach 100 miles per hour, and it’s not Bike, Hike, or horseback ride up the mountain using 3400 1 Welcome – (Summit Shelter) unusual to see snow in the winter, or for up the Mt. Umunhum Trail. Enjoy views, woodlands, Cross with At this stop you’ll be introduced to Mount Caution to ten inches of rain to fall in a single day. and the headwaters of Guadalupe Creek. Umunhum. Here, visitors will be standing on 3375 Learn how in spite of these challenges, this one of the highest peaks in the Bay Area at mountaintop is surprisingly rich with plants Summit Features almost 3,486 feet in elevation – high enough 3350 and wildlife. • Ceremonial Circle – Honoring the site’s Native Trailhead to get snow on a cold winter’s day. From the Shelter American history and the return of local tribes Horse 3325 Summit, you can enjoy a 360-degree view 6 Creation Story – (Ceremonial Circle) a d to the mountain, this is a place to reflect on Ro Trough spanning more than 2,000 miles. Along with The first people to visit Mount Umunhum um and renew connections with nature. unh unhum Tra 3300 its human history, you’ll discover the unique thousands of years ago were the native Um Mt. Umunhum Trail continues m il M t. U • Radar Tower – The radar tower was part of a to Guadalupe Creek overlook and . climate and habitat that makes the Summit an; people of for whom this mountain t N system of 23 similar radar stations in California, Bald Mountain parking area M “island in the sky”. was sacred. Their descendants requested and one of hundreds across the country that fed a place where they could return to Mount 2 Views – (Cantilever Deck) radar signals into the Semi-Automatic Ground Umunhum for the first time in nearly Accessibility in Midpen preserves is continually The Deck provides an exhilarating vantage Environment (SAGE) defense system. This tower Know Before You Go 200 years to pray and dance where Accessible Features improving. For updates visit www.openspace.org/ point from which to enjoy sweeping views of was in operation as part of the Almaden Air Call Box: Available for emergency use only. they feel closer to their creator, just Accessible parking, restrooms, shade shelters, about-us/accessibility the valley below. To the north is the Peninsula, Force Station from 1957 to 1980. like their ancestors did. Restrooms: Vault toilets are provided at the and pathways are located at the Mount Umunhum San Francisco and Mount Tamalpais beyond. • Summit Shelter and Viewpoint – A shaded area Bald Mountain and Mount Umunhum Summit Summit and shown in purple on the map above. At On a clear day you can even see the Golden 7 Conservation Lands – (West Summit) for visitors to rest. A cantilevered deck extends parking areas. the main parking area, visitors can use accessible over the hillside, providing an amazing vantage Gate Bridge. Standing near the highest point on Mount parking, restrooms, trailhead shelter, and picnic Umunhum you’ll see the City of Santa Cruz point of the Santa Clara Valley. Inside, interpre- Water: No potable water is available anywhere 3 Air Force History – (Radar Tower West Side) tables. Restrooms are only available at this location. and beyond to the Pacific Ocean. Look directly tive panels highlight the site’s unique cultural, on the Trail or Summit. Non-potable water is This eight--story concrete tower was once a down the spine of the Santa Cruz military and natural histories. provided for horses at a trough near the Summit. At the Summit turnaround area, there are three (3) base holding a large radar dish operated by towards other Midpen preserves. A special • East Summit Viewpoint accessible parking spaces and a drop-off area. the US Air Force. Between 1957 and 1980, – From here, the high Karl Gohl plaque dedicates Mount Umunhum to you, point of Mount Umunhum, Mount Diablo, and Visitors can enjoy the accessible pathway to the the Air Force used Mount Umunhum’s spectacular the public, for generations to come. Mount Tamalpais can be seen as well as the west Summit and ceremonial circle, the east Summit, views to help protect the West Coast from valley below. Summit shelter, and interpretive displays. Mount Umunhum, Open Space Preserve the possible threat of Soviet planes during the

Mount Umunhum Area and Trails Plant and Animal Guide

Photos to left by Ken Hickman Map Legend Trails and Recreation The distinctive canyon The new 3.7-mile Mt. Umunhum Trail extends Hiking Only liveforever thrives on from the Bald Mountain parking area to the exposed rocky outcrops Hiking, Bicycling Summit, crossing through varied habitats and offering incredible views of the valley below, the L Hiking, Bicycling, ridgelines above, and the other great peaks of Equestrian the Bay Area. This multi-use trail offers moderate A The mountain is called terrain for hikers, bicyclists, and horseback riders Trail Junction “Umunhum”, which contains and, at the Summit, is the highest point on the K E Point of Interest the root word for hummingbird . Note, the highest 0.2 mile in five Ohlone languages section is limited to hiking only. Parking Lot C I H Restroom G B Mount Umunhum Trail F D Hummingbirds love scarlet This gorgeous trail passes through mixed chaparral 0 Shelter J beardtongue flowers and scrub dominated by chamise, big berry manzanita, Picnic Table the Summit’s abundant birch-leafed mountain mahogany, and poison oak. flowering plants With elevation gain, the trail passes through Bench knobcone pine woodland, and eventually enters the coastal woodlands dominated by coast live Water Trough (Non-Potable) oak, foothill pine, and California bay interspersed with Pacific madrone. The majority of the trail – b Accessible Features Bobcats, like this baby one, approximately the upper 3.0 miles – is under live at Mount Umunhum the cool canopy of these trees. Eventually, the trail emerges near the top onto steep terrain with East Summit L cliffs and rocky outcrops, including serpentine Mt. Umunhum Trail Profile 1,150’ Gain Trail Profile boulders. Rocky, nutrient-poor serpentine soils Trail Entry Point: The Mt. Umunhum trailhead is located Trailhead Shelter Cut-off are home to numerous endemic plant species, 3,400 K Lindley’s blazing star is at the Bald Mountain parking area. The Trail can also 1,020’ Gain 3.0 Mile Marker including rare flowering plants that continue to be accessed via Barlow Road from Woods Trail. limited to a small range 3,300 878’ Gain reveal themselves each spring. Bald Mountain Parking Area Elevation: 2,336 feet. J 2.5 Mile Marker in California Mount Umunhum Summit Elevation: 3,486 feet. 3,200 688’ Gain Total Elevation Gain: 1,150 feet of continuous Central Bridge 3,100 gain at approximately 10% grade. West Bridge and 492’ Gain Restoration in Progress I Cabin Ruins Total Length: 3.7 miles; multi-use = 3.5 miles, 3,000 540’ Gain Guadalupe Creek Please Stay on the Trails hiking only (at Summit) = 0.2 miles. Overlook Soaring and peak-loving H The rock gardens at the Summit of Mount At the Summit: The 0.2 miles of trail between 2,900 1.5 Mile Marker 354’ Gain birds such as golden eagles the trailhead shelter to the east Summit is hiking G 388’ Gain Umunhum support fragile plant communities. 2,800 East Bridge are frequent Summit visitors only and includes steps, facilities to secure horses Vegetation can F 235’ Gain and bicycles are provided at the trailhead shelter. E 0.5 Mile Marker

Elevation (Feet) 2,700 take years to A second bike rack is also provided near the 137’ Gain establish in Summit shelter. Summit paths at the very top are 2,600 D Barlow Road newly planted ADA accessible and open to hiking only. 99’ Gain 2,500 C Brewer’s clarkia is a rare restoration areas. Bicyclists: Can access the Summit by using the final B endemic flower found only A Thank you for 0.2 miles of Mt. Umunhum Road instead of the 2,400 on local Bay Area peaks protecting these Trail and using the Summit bike rack; bikes are sensitive resources. not permitted on Summit paths. 3.7 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.9 1.5 1.3 1.0 0.5 0.3 Bald Mountain Equestrians: Horses are not permitted beyond the Distance in Miles (Cumulative) Parking Area trailhead shelter. 0’ Gain To see more images go to www.openspace.org