Watch CBS News

South Bay's Mount Umunhum Opening To The Public Next Year

MOUNT UMUNHUM (KPIX 5) -- The wait is almost over. Mount Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountains will be opened to public access starting next year.

"There are people living down in the valley well over half a century who have been waiting to get up here, and they're finally going to get a chance to do it," said Basim Jaber of the Umunhum Conservancy.

Behind a series of gates, and layers of video surveillance, you'll find your next great daytrip.

"Umunhum.  It's a name people are beginning to recognize.  It's actually an Ohlone word that means resting place of the hummingbird," said Steve Abbors of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space.

Thirty-five years after it was abandoned by the Air Force, Mount Umunhum is about one year away from becoming public domain.

"The site has been remediated, all toxics are gone, and so we're preparing it for the public," Abbors said.

For example, there is a parking lot for those who don't hike up to 3,486 feet. However you manage to get up here - the payoff is extraordinary.

"It's pretty exciting.  There's a lot up here.  I mean there's some fantabulous views," Jaber said.

Abbors describes the view. "The whole Monterey Peninsula is over there.  You can get a peek of the Sierra," he said.

From Mt. Umunhum, San Francisco can be seen on a clear day, along with Mount Diablo and Mount St. Helena in the Wine Country.

Now there is one bit of uncertainty on this mountain - and it's kind of hard to miss. "The radar tower, which is the remnants of the old Almaden Air Force Station," Jaber said.

From 1958 to 1980, this radar tower scanned the pacific for incoming Soviet bombers. As for its future, one possibility is removing it completely, another is cutting it down to a one-story history exhibit or it could simply stay as it is.

"It's a piece of history.  It's a piece of our South Bay history," Jaber said.

The cube's fate aside, this land will soon become yours, and the people who have worked decades to make it happen can't wait to see you up here.

"It's the first time it's happened in a long time in the Bay Area," Abbors said. "We're opening a mountain, it's a big deal."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.