Location Mount Hamilton is about thirteen miles east of San Jose as the crow flies but it is twenty or more miles to the summit by California State Highway 130. Highway 130 continues east to I-5. Description California State Highway 130 climbs from an elevation of around 90 feet above sea level at San Jose to 4300 feet at the Lick Observatory on top of Mount Hamilton. Some local highway books have claimed that it is the crookedest and most dangerous road in America. Some sections of the road are only a little over a car wide and it is a two way road.
Most sections have steep cliff dropoffs with no guardrails.
According to the Rand McNally Road Atlas the road is paved. There is a wonderful view from the summit where you can see San Francisco, Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, the Santa Clara Valley and the Central Valley of California.