Mission Peak’s New Curfew

Imagine this: hiking under the stars, waiting for the sun to rise over the mountains, feeling the warmth of the sun upon your cheeks, and seeing how a dark city brightens up thanks to the sunlight, all while exercising! This is a beautiful experience that we can’t encounter in the low grounds of San Jose.

Luckily for us, this experience is available in the nearby city of Fremont, where a popular state park by the name of Mission Peak is located. Up until September 29, hiking under the stars was a possibility, as the park opened at 5:00 am and closed at 10:00 pm. However, a sign was recently posted at the entrance to the park informing hikers that the park now opens at 6:30 am and closes at 7:00 pm. If hikers break this curfew, they will have to pay a $300 fine. Park rangers were already present to enforce the rule that all hikers remain on the main trail, and they will now be in charge of deterring any hikers who break the new curfew.

With this new curfew, it will be very unlikely to almost impossible for hikers to have a chance at hiking under the stars and exercising at the same time. Since the hike to the top takes around an hour and a half, it was still unlikely for visitors to reach the top before the sun came up, even when the park opened at 5 am. Before the summer of 2014, there was no curfew at all, and people could hike at any hour of the day.

The park chose to enforce this new curfew because of a parking space issue, neighbors unwillingly being woken up early on weekends, pets dying from dehydration, and people going off-trail.

The Mission Peak parking lot only has space for 24 cars, definitely not enough for the 6,000+ visitors who come to Mission Peak every weekend. When visitors cannot find parking in the main parking lot, they rely on street parking. Homeowners that live near the entrance to Mission Peak are woken up early on weekends thanks to the multitude of car alarms, slamming doors, and loud passersby. According to the San Jose Mercury News, 5 dogs were reported to have died from dehydration during their owners’ hikes, and about 20 calls are made to 911 each month from trail hikers.

As much as I sympathize with the neighbors’ lack of sleep, dogs who have died, and the people who have gone off trail, I do not think it is fair for Mission Peak’s curfew to be cut so short. It is not fair for the public to be deprived of the opportunity to hike under the stars and get a good morning or late night exercise. This new curfew will not stop hikers from coming, and I am sure many early and late night hikers will be against it.

A former Lincoln student from the Class of 2014, Diana Colchado, said, “Being fined for waking up early to hike and enjoying nature… I think it just isn’t fair.”

Nicole Tirado, a sophomore at Lincoln, agreed, describing the new curfew as “unfair” and “uncalled for.”

If you have ever been to Mission Peak during the mornings or evenings, then you will understand the feeling of reaching the top just as the sun is rising or setting, and of friendly strangers along the way encouraging you not to turn around. This new curfew discourages the public from getting an inspiring and motivating workout. It is much easier to hike Mission Peak during the mornings and evenings when the sun is not blazing over our skin and eyes. By not allowing the public to hike at a safe time free from the more extreme daytime weather, Mission Peak is exposing hikers to conditions that are potentially hazardous to their health.

Instead of setting a curfew to protect our dogs, hikers, and neighbors, Mission Peak could be focusing on different solutions to these problems, such as making a rule that requires people to keep silent while in neighborhoods before a certain hour, or opening up a new parking lot somewhere along the base of the mountain. During winter, when the ground may be wet from rain, rules about keeping on the trail should be enforced so people will avoid slipping and falling in a place that is unknown or hard to find.

If setting a curfew for hikers is extremely necessary, then I think it should allow them to still have a chance to see the sunrise.