Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
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39.65169°N / 121.46286°W |
County:
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Butte |
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Elevation:
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3005 ft / 916 m |
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Overview
Bloomer Hill is only 3005 feet high. it is located just east of Lake Oroville, and northeast of the city of Oroville.One can drive up to the summit, where a rather tall, currently inactive lookout tower can be found, which is currently climbable.
The real claim to fame for this otherwise unremarkable summit is that it is the most prominent summit in Butte County. Hence those persueing the California County Prominence Peaks list actively seek it out. As of June 2016 18 climbers registered on Peakbagger.com have summited Bloomer Hill.
The summit has 1187 feet of clean prominence.
Looking at the topo maps there are actually two nearby but separate closed 3000 foot contour lines. Most peakbaggers feel one needs to summit both to "count" the summit.
However, quite recently the north knoll has been completely cleared and bulldozed flat. It contends no more. I suspect that it will soon be the site of another electronic tower.
Getting There
If going there from Oroville one takes highway 162 east, passing over the suspension bridge above Lake Oroville. One then turns left or northwest onto Encina Grande Road which will pass by several isolated private homes. There are several side roads but if you just follow the main road it will take you directly to the summit and its towers. It can probably be driven by most cars but I found the road to be a bit bumpy and was glad I had 4WD/high clearance.This road does loop down the other side as Bloomer Hill Road but I cannot comment on that route except to say one contributor to peakbagger found that road to be even rockier and more troublesome than Encina Grande Road.
Route
This peak is a drive up. You can of course walk the road as much as you wish.Red Tape
There is no red tape. The summit area is in a small island of Plumas National Forest. There is no fencing around the towers, nor gates or locks or signs preventing you from climbing the tower.When to Climb
At a low elevation of 3K feet, it should be summit-able year round.Camping
The summit area can be dry camped if one wishes. There are a couple of campgrounds en route from Oroville on the shores of Lake Oroville in Lake Oroville State recreation Area. If you drive slightly farther NE on highway 119/ Oroville-Quincy Highway you enter the main body of Plumas National Forest where several campgrounds can be found.External Links
http://californialookouts.weebly.com/bloomer-hill.html for the California lookouts page for Bloomer Hill.http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=21278 for the Peakbagger.com page for this Butte County Prominence point.