News Release

National Park Service Hosts Solar Eclipse Hike

Date: August 7, 2017
Contact: Jim MacDonald, 925-228-8860 ext. 6431

Join National Park Service rangers for a solar eclipse hike to the top of Mt. Wanda on Monday August 21, 2017. Martinez will see about 80% of the sun covered by the moon early on Monday, while portions of Oregon will experience a total eclipse. This is the first total solar eclipse to cross the North American continent coast-to-coast in 99 years, and the first to pass through any part of the Lower 48 states in 38 years. Some eclipse glasses will be available for participants to share.

This free, two-hour program begins at 8:30 AM with a one-mile, moderately strenuous hike to the top of Mount Wanda. Visitors should meet at the parking lot on the corner of Alhambra Avenue and Franklin Canyon Road, Martinez (at the Alhambra Avenue exit off Highway 4). Bring water and wear comfortable walking shoes, as the trail is steep. If it rains heavily, the walk will be canceled.

Reservations are not required. Please call the John Muir NHS Visitor Center at [phone] if you have questions. For more information, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/jomu.

Created in 1964, John Muir NHS preserves the home and landscapes of conservationist and national park advocate John Muir. Mt. Wanda preserves 326 acres of grasslands and oak woodlands that were part of the original Muir/Strentzel ranch in the Alhambra Valley more than a century ago. Muir named Mt. Wanda after his eldest daughter, Annie Wanda Muir, and he often strolled among these hills with his two daughters. Visitors can follow in Muir’s footsteps by enjoying Mt. Wanda seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. 

The John Muir NHS, located at 4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, CA 94553, is open seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission to the site is free of charge. For more information, please visit the park website atwww.nps.gov/jomu or call [phone].