Top Down Road Trip to Lick Observatory

A back roads Bay Area odyssey with spectacular views and some curious deer

Gary Horstkorta and his Miata.

Greetings, everyone! Seeing that this is Labor Day weekend, we thought we’d hit you up with back-to-back travel and driving stories. Tomorrow will be a short, mostly happy remembrance of the glory days of hitchhiking. But today we are taking you on a nice, sporty drive around the backroads of the Bay Area, and your tour guide is our automotive and motoring aficionado Gary Horstkorta. Enjoy!—Kevin Nelson

By Gary Horstkorta

Waking up after a good night’s sleep on a recent Saturday morning, I looked outside through the window to see the sky was clear with very little wind. The weather forecast showed a warm day ahead so I turned to my wife and said,

“This looks like a nice day for a drive, what do you think?”

She paused for a few seconds then replied, “Sounds good. Why don’t we head out on the back roads to Mt. Hamilton then continue on and have lunch at The Junction?”

Having taken this route in the past, it is a nice scenic drive on curvy roads of  about 100 miles (the red line on the map) and takes the better part of a day…Perfect! 

We both agreed with such nice weather, the ideal car we should take was our Mazda Miata with the top down. After breakfast, we packed a few snacks and water, loaded up the car and headed out from our home in Livermore. Comfortably seated in the car and with the warm summer breeze wafting around us, we headed for the first leg on our route, Calaveras Road near Sunol.

This winding, narrow, two-lane road is very popular with motorcyclists and bicycle riders alike so a slow cruising speed is in order. The road takes us by the renovated Calaveras Reservoir Dam whose water level has risen to full capacity thanks to our last two wet winters.

We continued on this route at a leisurely pace enjoying the beautiful scenery of the reservoir and surrounding hills turned golden brown by days of sunshine. It is hard to believe this area is literally just over the hill from one of the world’s great technology centers, the Silicon Valley. We continued on our journey through the rolling hills as we gradually climbed heading  west to an observation point on the ridge with a 180 degree panorama of the whole Silicon Valley below…What a view!

Moving on we quickly descended into suburbia again and finding our way towards the road to our next destination, Mt. Hamilton. It’s a fairly steep and  twisty 20-plus mile road leading up to its 4,213-foot peak which is also the location of the historical, 132 year old, Lick Observatory.

Sitting atop the peak, the view from the observatory parking lot is excellent, taking in a portion of the south San Francisco Bay and all of Santa Clara Valley. Visitors are welcome inside the observatory where there is a small museum, gift shop, free tours of the 36-inch telescope and the 120-inch Reflector telescope in the nearby Shane Dome. They have a small garden behind the historic observatory building which is a nice place to enjoy a picnic lunch.

Mt. Hamilton was the half-way point of our day trip and a good rest stop after a couple of hours in the car but it was time to press on. Our journey continued down the east side of the mountain with our next stop for lunch 25 miles away. The descent is several more miles of winding road and rolling hills which still show signs of fires that spread through this area the last two years.

Once reaching the valley floor we  cruised along passing a few farms scattered here and there until we reached our destination, The Junction Grill. This establishment is well known among day trippers, motorcyclists and bicyclists who for years have made this a meeting place for lunch. The location is at the corner of Mines Road and Highway 130 (Del Puerto Canyon Road) which heads east (another good drive) to Highway 5 and the town of Patterson. 

The Junction Grill

After a nice lunch we embarked on the last leg of our journey home, 32 miles of two-lane, winding road paralleling the Arroyo Mocho Creek. A few miles down the road my wife spotted smoke rising over the hill to our right, possibly a grass fire which is not unusual this time of year. We saw no signs of fire crews, planes or helicopters overhead as we continued on our drive.

A few more miles down the road and rounding a corner, we encountered three deer, a doe and two fawns, standing by the edge of the road about 30 yards ahead of us. With no other car traffic in either direction, I came to a stop. The doe didn’t hesitate and headed down the low embankment to the creek but the two fawns seemed more curious than scared.

For the next 20 or 30 seconds, we stared at each other before the fawns turned and walked further down the road. I took my foot off the car’s brake and coasted forward until the fawns stopped to look us over once again. I continued coasting then the fawns decided the little red sports car they were looking at was a bit scary so they bounded up the near vertical embankment to our right and out of sight. 

We continued our drive on Mines Road and as we approached the vineyards in Livermore, we encountered ten fire vehicles with lights flashing and sirens blaring, heading up the road towards the fire. With the warm temperatures, light winds and dry grassy hills, the fire departments responded in force to prevent the situation from growing worse. 

Arriving home after our day’s adventure, we had covered 107 miles of back roads with two spectacular views of the south San Francisco Bay Area, visited the Lick Observatory, took in lots of lovely scenery, and enjoyed a good lunch. Definitely a day well spent.

Some recommendations: On a warm day like we had in a convertible car, you need a broad brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt (sun or wind), sunscreen, snacks and water. Having a good handling, small car like the Miata makes driving the twisty roads easy and fun. So plan a road trip, there are a plethora of options in the greater San Francisco Bay Area to enjoy.

Been on a road trip that you’ve enjoyed and would like to share? In the Bay Area or wherever you live. Send it on: KevinNelson@Substack.com.