Bay Area Nifty Ninety Peaks

I cover a lot of obscure mountains and hikes on this website. Often I hike a mountain because it lands on an equally unknown peakbagging list, such as the Bay Area Nifty Ninety Peaks. Peakbagging is a relentless though highly questionable pursuit of tagging summits in a systematic way. Though heavily ridiculed by "serious climbers", I've never met another peakbagger who wasn't having a hell of a time. After several years of living in the Bay Area, I'm approaching completion of this little known (and slightly absurd) peakbagging achievement

Background on the Bay Area Nifty Ninety Peaks

The Bay Area Nifty Ninety Peakbagging List came out sometime in 2017 without much fanfare. It's compiled and maintained by from the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Sierra Club. There are no well-defined inclusion criteria for the list other than all the summits are on public land. Altitude, topographic prominence, fame nor aesthetics play role in the list. Presumably it was an answer to the vigorously maintained peakbagging lists of the Los Angeles Chapter. Unlike the Hundred Peaks Section List of Southern California, this list remains unchanged since its inception. There are no other club-maintained lists in the Bay Area.

The Full List

Here's the full list, ranked by elevation and including topographic prominence. I included my assessment of difficulty with 1 being a drive-up or short walk, 5+ being an extremely difficult hike. A few of them have links to my trip reports.

	Peak	Elevation	Prominence	Difficulty (1-5)
1	Mount Saint Helena	4343	1823	4
2	Mount Hamilton	4213	53	1
3	Mount Saint Helena-South Peak	4003	163	4
4	Mount Diablo	3849	3109	Variable
5	Rose Peak	3817	217	5+
6	North Peak	3557	597	4
7	Mount Umunhum	3486	566	4
8	Mount Sizer	3216	576	5
9	Schlieper Rock	3080+	0	4
10	Berryessa Peak	3057	1377	5+
11	El Sombroso	2999	280	5
12	Antler Point	2999	439	4
13	Mount Olympia	2946	66	3
14	Goat Rock	2920	0	2
15	Mount Vaca	2819	1959	2
16	Black Mountain	2800+	747	5
17	Mount Hood	2730	1970	4
18	Bald Mountain	2729	559	3
19	Nibbs Knob	2694	94	3
20	Willson Peak	2651	571	5
21	Monument Peak	2600+	80	3
22	Borel Hill	2572	452	3
22	Mount Tamalpais-East Peak	2572	332	4
24	Mission Peak	2517	197	3
25	Table Rock	2462	22	2
26	Bald Mountain	2387	67	1
27	Eagle Peak	2369	289	3
28	Burra Burra Peak	2281	481	5+
29	Vasquez Peak	2210	50	4
30	Pine Mountain	2208	808	3
31	Mindego Hill	2143	383	2
32	Bills Hill	1988	628	3
33	Windy Hill	1930	130	Variable
34	Vollmer Peak	1905	1305	2
35	Montara Mountain	1898	486	4
36	Mount Madonna	1897	188	2
37	Table Mountain	1852	92	3
38	Vista Grande	1840+	40	3
39	Las Trampas Peak	1827	427	3
40	Vail Peak	1787	107	3
41	Round Top	1763	455	2
42	Pine Mountain	1762	1042	3
43	Grizzly Peak	1740+	100	2
44	McAbee Overlook	1730	0	3
45	Mine Hill	1728	328	3
46	Eagle Peak	1720	40	3
47	Brushy Peak	1702	722	3
48	Maguire Peak	1688	488	3
49	Sugarloaf	1630	110	3
50	Redwood Peak	1619	379	2
51	Chalk Mountain	1609	509	5+
52	Loma Alta	1592	942	3
53	Burdell Mountain	1558	1038	4
54	Rose Hill	1506	386	3
55	Briones Peak	1483	823	Variable
56	Barnabe Mountain	1466	866	4
57	Church Hill	1459	59	3
58	White Hill	1434	308	2
59	Mott Peak	1424	225	Variable
60	Mount Wittenberg	1407	1007	3
61	Flag Hill	1360+	0	3
62	Russell Peak	1357	157	3
63	Point Reyes Hill	1342	662	3
64	San Bruno Mountain	1314	1114	4
65	Saint Joseph's Hill	1253	173	2
66	Wildcat Peak	1211	191	2
67	Pilot Knob	1187	267	2
68	Coyote Peak	1170	130	2
69	Coyote Peak	1155	595	3
70	Donlan Point	1139	99	1
71	Sulphur Springs Mountain	1112	512	3
72	San Pedro Mountain	1080+	840	3
72	Tolman Peak	1080+	0	3
72	Gossip Rock	1080+	0	3
75	Wolf Ridge	960+	320	3
76	Garin Peak	948	201	3
77	Slacker Hill	937	274	2
78	Mount Davidson	925+	628	2
79	Twin Peaks	922	332	1
80	Hawk Hill	920	320	1
81	Mount Sutro	908	208	1
82	Mount Caroline Livermore	781	781	3
83	Mount Wanda	640+	0	2
84	Tank Hill	600+	15	1
85	Corona Heights Crag	500+	95	1
86	Bernal Heights	460+	265	1
87	Nob Hill	365+	175	1
88	Russian Hill	355+	85	1
89	Telegraph Hill	295+	200	1
90	Hayes Hill	270+	50	1

Bay Area Nifty Ninety Map

Here's a map of all the summits. Each point has the altitude, topographic prominence and my 1-5 assessment of difficulty, views, hike quality and wilderness (i.e. is it in a city or far from a public road. I have my overall rating from 1-5 as well and some short comments on each summit

Overall Top 10

There's several on the list that are timeless adventures and worth peakbagging more than once. My favorites of the list, in no particular order are:

• #5 Rose Peak, 3,817' - One of the most challenging hikes in the Bay Area and the only summit that is often backpacked rather than day-hiked.
• #6 North Peak (Mt Diablo), 3557' - Leave the hoards of hikers at Mt Diablo's summit behind with this equally magnificent alternative.
• #8 Mt Sizer, 3,215' - Any hike of Mt Sizer gets deep into the heart of Henry Coe State Park. Guaranteed solitude.
• #10 Berryessa Peak, 3,057' - Extremely remote summit (by Bay Area standards) with sweeping views of Lake Berryessa, the Coast Ranges and the Central Valley.
• #16 Black Mountain, 2800+' - Favorite hike of Silicon Valley with no easy way up.
• #28 Burra Burra Peak, 2281' - This far flung summit in Henry Coe Wilderness is an easy hike from the Dowdy Ranch entrance. However the entrance is closed almost all the time which makes this the least climbed summit on the list. When I climbed it in spring 2021, there were only three parties on the summit register for the year.
• #48 Maguire Peak, 1688' - A gem of Sunol Regional Wilderness. Trailhead is obscure and hard to get to, therefore the hike is rarely done. Exceptional views of the Tri-Valley.
• #51 Chalk Mountain, 1609' - Deep in the heart of the Big Basin wilderness. Untrampled and unspoiled.
• #56 Barnabe Mountain, 1466' - My favorite in Marin County. Lush woods lead to a panoramic view of the Point Reyes area.
• #82 Mt Caroline Livermore, 781' - A well known mountain and hike with unparalleled views of the San Francisco Bay

Most Difficult

Difficulty is hard to gauge on the Bay Area Nifty Ninety given that many of the summits have easy and hard routes. But some of them have no easy routes. Based on overall difficulty of any/all routes, here's my ranking:

• #5 Rose Peak, from Sunol 18.2 miles, 4,100' of gain (from Del Valle Park 20 miles, 4,400' of gain)
• #8 Sizer Peak via "The Shortcut", 13.8 miles, 4,200' of gain
• #10 Berryessa Peak, 15.3 miles 3,100' of gain
• #16 Black Mountain via Rhys Ridge, 10.5 miles, 2,600' of gain
• #1/#3Mount Saint Helena and South Peak, 11 miles, ~3,000' of gain
• #11 Mt El Sombroso from Mt Umunhum Road, 10.5 miles, 2,600' of gain
• #7 Mt Umunhum, 7.7 miles, 1,100' of gain

Easiest/Drive-Ups

For novice hikers or people who just want a nice view, here are the easiest of the bunch:

• #2: Mt Hamilton, 4,213' - This is the site of the famous observatory. There's no hike option, only driving or a really difficult road bike ride.
• #4 Mt Diablo, 3,849' - Mt Diablo is an easy drive-up for most. Short hikes exist as well.
• #18 Bald Mountain, 2,729' - A short walk from the Mt Umunhum trailhead. Nice views of the South Bay.
• #70 Donlan Point, 1,139' - A short walk overlooking the pass separating the East Bay and Tri-Valley.
• #79 Twin Peaks, 922' - More of a walk than a hike. Best view in San Francisco proper.
• #80 Hawk Hill, 920' - Short walk in the Marin Headlands. Classic vista of the Golden Gate.
• #81 Mt Sutro, 908' - Nature sanctuary within San Francisco. The Sutro Tower is NOT on Mt Sutro.
• #84 Tank Hill, 600' - Not a mountain by any measure but a phenomenal view from near the center of San Francisco. No tour busses!
• #85 Corona Heights 500' - Pleasant city park near center of the city.
• #86 Bernal Heights 460' - Similar park to Corona Heights near city center.
• #87 Nob Hill 365' - Actual highpoint is up a stairway labeled Priest Street.
• #88 Russian Hill 355' - Just a high city street but there's some pretty architecture nearby.
• #89 Telegraph Hill 295' - Famous for the Coit Tower.
• #90 Hayes Hill 270' - High hill of Alamo Square Park.

Well, those are my impression of this peakbagging list! Have you done the Bay Area Nifty Ninety? What are your thoughts?