Are the Sierra Nevada Mountains visible from San Francisco? Is the Pacific Ocean visible from anywhere in the Sierras?
Doubtful. From the top of the highest point in the Sierras (Mt. Whitney, 14,505 feet) the horizon is 162.1 miles away, while the distance from Mt. Whitney to the nearest ocean is ~175 miles, north of Santa Maria.
Mt. Whitney isn’t even visible from the highest point in San Francisco, at 925 ft.
Also, the northern-most peak in the Sierras that is over 12,000 is Matterhorn Peak (12246 feet). The horizon is 149 miles away at that altitude, while San Francisco is 174 miles away. I say no on either count.
Which is 253 miles away.
I thought I had once seen a picture of Half Dome in Yosemite as seen from San Francisco, but I haven’t been able to locate it again. It must have been some sort of representation or painting, not a photograph.
Thanks.
From the top of Mt Hamilton (in San Jose), you can see Half-Dome. But that’s not exactly “San Francisco”, although it is the Bay Area. Mt Hamilton is a bit over 4,000 ft high. I suspect you might be able to see Half Dome from some of the other peaks in the area, such as Mt Diablo.
With the decreasing air quality in the Central Valley, it has become rarer to spot the Sierras from the Bay Area. From SF proper, I doubt that you could see past the Diablo Range (East Bay Hills). I have seen both the Sierras and the Farallones from Round Top (1763’) in Sibley Park. Mt. Diablo, being a lone peak, has one of the largest viewsheds in the world, and on exceptional days, one can spot Mt. Shasta from there.
John, I haven’t been to Mt. Hamilton, but can you actually see Half Dome? I wonder because Half Dome is not a whole lot higher than the rest of the stuff in front of it across Yosemite Valley.
I’ve not actually seen it myself, but I do a bike ride up there quite frequently and was told on several occasions by the Ranger there that you could. There is an observation deck and a telescope, so I’m not sure you can distinguish that individual peak with the naked eye, but you can certainly see the Mt Range.
I have personally seen Half Dome from Mt. Diablo, so I’m certain you could see it from Mt. Hamilton as well. When the air is freshly cleaned right after a winter storm, the view from up there is spectacular.
That’s 131 miles – Mount Diablo to Half Dome – according to Google Earth.
Inside the Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton they have (or had…haven’t been there since '06) gorgeous panoramic photographs of their view of the Sierras that is only rarely actually visible due to haze. As I recall, Half Dome itself really stands out amongst the rest of the peaks.
February generally has the best visibility around the Bay Area from what I’ve noticed. That’s when I saw the snow capped peaks from Round Top in Sibley Park, which is between Tilden and Redwood parks above Skyline Road. I couldn’t distinguish Half Dome, but I can imagine that the extra height from Mts. Diablo and Hamilton would help a lot. I bet there are some places along the Ohlone Trail between Fremont and Livermore that would also be a good place to catch a glimpse. I’ve only been up there in the summer or fall, but I hear it’s spectacular in spring.
If a ranger with an observation deck and a telescope said it I believe it. A ranger at a fire tower at the highest point in the Poconos (2200 ft. as I remember) told me he could see another tower along the same ridge in New York State. It took me a little while but I was finally able to discern it too, with his help.
Maybe that’s the picture I referred to in Post 6. I am going to try again to locate it on the web tonight. A Lick Observatory webpage might have it.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Half Dome from Mt. Hamilton. In the gift shop they also sell (or used to) some pretty cool panoramic photos taken from the Mt. Ham of Yosemite and Half Dome.
On preview, just what fiddlestix said.
Mount Diablo is visible from San Francisco, but as you can see, the East Bay Hills (including Sibley) obscure just about everything else to the east. Plus, that picture is taken from atop Twin Peaks, 920 feet up.
Beyond that, I can’t make any educated guesses, but here’s a wide view of Diablo from Sibley (large). Could those be the Sierra foothills to the left, looking toward Sutter Creek?
Those look to me like they’d be in Fairfield. I think the only parts of the Sierras that are seen from there would be the snowy peaks, rising above the haze.
I’ve been up Mission Peak, but I’ve never been to either Mt. Diablo or Mt. Hamilton in the 12 years I’ve been here. I’m so going there this February. Thanks all for letting me know about something really fascinating.