Mission and Monument Peaks, Mt Allison

Description: Mission and Monument Peaks from Ed R Levin Park

Distance = 13mi

Total elevation ascent = 2980' (Caltopo)

Lowest to highest elevation = 1981’

My Run/Hike time = 3.5hr

Subsequent run to Monument Peak and Mt Allison (no Mission Peak):

Distance = 10mi

Total elevation ascent = 2678' (Caltopo)

Lowest to highest elevation = 2023’

My Run/Hike time = 2.3hr

The wildly popular Mission Peak hike from Fremont has never appealed to me. However, I found a trail from Ed R Levin Park to Mission Peak that promised peace and quiet. I took the first opportunity on a perfect December day during Christmas break. The sky was mostly clear and it had not rained for several days.

I parked at the Sandy Wool Lake parking lot and started up the Tularcitos Trail, turning onto the Aqua Caliente Trail almost immediately.

I saw many cows along the way and hardly any hikers. From the Aqua Caliente Trail and the Monument Peak Trail afterwards, I had great views of San Jose below.

At the intersection of Monument Peak Road, which I would take later, I had reached the top of the range so travel across the Bay Area Ridge trail was relatively flat until approaching Mission Peak.

Until now, I had only seen a pair of hikers and a bunch of cows so the contrast here was a bit of a shock. I was also sad and disgusted at the littered pile of orange peels near the summit. After a brief moment on top, I retraced my steps back down and detoured up to serene Monument Peak.

With parallel trails and Mt Allison nearby, there are many variations to this hike in an area that is becoming one of my Bay Area favorites with Mission Peak excluded.

On a subsequent trip, I ran to Monument Peak and Mt Allison, stopping about 20' short of Mt Allison's summit since I didn't want to trigger the motion sensors and set off the alarms that many others had reported doing (private property)