Copernicus Peak - Mt Hamilton, California
Posted by: 
DougK
N 37° 20.806 W 121° 37.801
10S E 621342 N 4134221
Quick Description: Mount Hamilton is in California's Diablo Range, of Santa Clara County. It is the tallest mountain overlooking Silicon Valley, and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory.
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 12/20/2013 7:32:41 PM
Waymark Code: WMJQXN
Views: 2
Long Description:Copernicus Peak on Mount Hamilton is the
highest point in Santa Clara County.
A fire lookout tower sits atop Copernicus Peak.
Red Tape from
summit post.org:
Copernicus Peak isn't legally accesible. Warning signs are often disregarded because it's a county high point. Actually getting in trouble up there is a rare occurence. If you go into Lick Observatory's main building you can ask where the officer on patrol is and ask him for permission. There are no fees or permits required to get to any part of Mt Hamilton. There is free parking at Lick Observatory and no passes are needed.
Not having read this before I arrived, I parked at a large pull-off at a closed vehicle gate. The gate seemed to be only for vehicles as pedestrians can simply walk around the gate and follow road and some worn zig-zag uphill paths to the tower at the summit. An access door to the top of the tower was locked.