Mt. Gower Open Space Preserve

What a great hike! I found this location using the AllTrails app (which is a great app!) and decided to go this morning to think. The longest trail is 3.58 according to the map but my tracker said it was 4.2 so I’m not positive.
This mountain is awesome and there was not one other person there! It is definitely a little harder than moderate though!

I can’t believe more people don’t know about this place — but I suppose the lack of crowds is part of the appeal.
When I set out to hike the peak of Mount Gower, I couldn’t find a whole lot of useful trail information. So, here it goes:
Parking– There is a large lot if you follow Gunn Stage Rd all the way to the end and continue up the gravel road about .5 miles.
Facilities– There is a restroom and water at the trail head
Trail– Follow the main trail out of the parking area. After about a quarter mile the trail splits, stay to the right if you want to go to the peak. About a mile in, there is a trail that splits off to the right. This is just a vista point — we skipped it. The main trail will continue down into a drainage area, and then up towards the water tower. After the water tower you will continue up and down several rolling hills, until you cross over towards the base of Mt Gower. The main path continues up along the side of Mount Gower and ends at a beautiful vista point. To continue to the peak, it is pretty much a scramble up the last ~.5 miles. We followed a small path of foot prints from previous hikers up to the top.
Distance– 7.7 miles r/​t to the peak (according to my cell phone tracker)
Difficulty– Moderate+, the length is probably the most difficult part of the hike. There are some steep uphill climbs, but they are usually short in duration.