Staff reopened the North Gate and South Gate roads into Mt. Diablo State Park for visitors Saturday morning. The roads at Mt. Diablo State Park had been closed due to the snowfall over the past few days, with the park sharing on Facebook that staff needed time to clear snow and downed tree limbs from the roads.
All day Saturday, visitors crowded the winding roads into the park waiting for a chance to see snow on one of the Bay Area's highest peaks. The people who spoke with NBC Bay Area Saturday said it took them as long as two and a half hours to make it through the bumper-to-bumper line of cars to enter the park.
Inside the park, visitors made snowmen, hopped on sleds, and even brought out their snowboards.
"My brother went to a barbershop, my dad took a photo and there was snow in the distance, and we decided to go to the mountain because we love the snow,” explained Victoria Hernandez of San Leandro who visited the park Saturday with her family.
7-year-old Adeeb Osmani of San Ramon said this was his first time seeing snow outside of Lake Tahoe. Osmani spent the day Saturday playing with his family on the mountain.
"I built an icicle and cut it in half then put the other half upside down,” he explained.
Some visitors waited in the line of cars, but eventually gave up given the traffic.
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“It’s a nightmare," explained Shiva Prakash of San Jose who got stuck in the line, “we are planning to head back now, we were kind of disappointed we couldn’t see the snow yet.”
One group of visitors from the Peninsula ditched the line of cars after waiting for an hour and decided to spend 40 minutes hiking up to the park entrance. Their change of plans paid off: they were able to make it into the park and gather some clumps of snow to bring home.
“It looked like a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we felt the need to check it out,” one member of the group explained.
Those still in line on the mountain when the sun set were turned away from entering the park.
“I walked up there but the ranger was closing the gate right there, he said it's too dangerous for people to come in because they don’t want anyone to come into the snow during the night,” explained Mario Rosero of Oakland.
Many said they'll be back to try entering the park again on Sunday, in hopes of taking in the rare winter views on the mountain.
Staff at the park told NBC Bay Area that it will open to the public again at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.
A post on the park's Facebook page Saturday advised that visitors drive carefully (as roads are still slippery) and bring warm clothes.
