Poe Mountain

Overview

 Poe is a small mountain above the northwest end of Clear Lake a few miles north of Scotts Valley between Lakeport and Upper Lake. This is a cool little peak with outstanding views. It is a short half day or less hike up a fire road from a remote canyon in a sparsely populated rural setting.

Getting There

 From Hwy. 29 at Lakeport take the Scotts Valley/11th St. exit west a half mile. Turn right and continue north on Scotts Valley Road another 4.25 miles with a few turns along the way to Eickhoff Rd.. Take Eickhoff Rd. approximately 1.3 miles staying to the right at a junction to just past a stables building next to the road. Find a place to park as close to the side as possible because it is a narrow road.

Route

   Climb through an easy wire fence and down into a stream bed (which could be flooded in the rainy season). There are 2 dirt roads leading up the south ridge just above the horse corral. They both connect up after a quarter mile or so on the ridge and the summit is easily reached in 1.5 miles since (as of Sept. '14) the road was recently graded. There is a crux to this route which is a wall of brush across the road deposited by the earth mover who graded it, probably to keep ATVs out. The brush on the side is just as thick. The only option is to flail your way over the 4 ft. pile which takes a few moments and could easily produce some bloody scratches. Not really a big deal, just throw in some F-bombs and you're over it. When you get up to the side of the peak an old fire break goes straight up steeply through some brush but the road continues around to the right and connects to the one going left up to the summit in a short distance. The top is also freshly graded providing unobstructed 360 views.

This route is 3 miles round trip and 1,000' el. gain.

Red Tape

 This is a somewhat grey area here. It is probably private prop. but there were no signs or warnings to stay out. Eickhoff Rd. is a public road and I didn't see anyone around. Just make sure you park far enough to the side and be cool about it. :)

When to Climb

 Year around. It gets hot in summer and could see some snow in winter.
Spring would probably be best but you might have to negotiate the stream bed if it's rainy.

Camping

 There is no camping in the immediate area but there is the Clear Lake State Park about 15 miles south near Mt. Konocti by the lakeshore.

Weather and forecast

 Click here for the current and 10 day forecast fore Lakeport.

Images

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