FREMONT, Calif. — At three miles long and 2,000 feet in elevation, the hike up Mission Peak is not for the faint of heart: The trail is dry and nearly bald, and climbing it can be painfully hot. The incline near the top is rocky and preposterously steep.

But for those who make it to the top, the payoff is big. In addition to a panoramic view of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and, sometimes, the Sierra Nevada set off against a cornflower sky, there is a pole to climb, one where hikers can pose in a victory stance for a photograph that proves they made it. About four years ago, cellphone images of climbers on the pole near the peak with arms outstretched like eagle wings began cropping up on Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and even dating sites.

But what has become a rite of passage for some has turned into a nuisance for the neighborhood. Every Saturday and Sunday, 1,500 to 2,000 people come to climb Mission Peak, and there are only 42 parking spaces. In a community of $2 million villas whose residents thought they were buying serenity, hundreds of hikers park along the streets.

“I don’t mind people coming, but they block part of my driveway,” said William Hsu, who retired from the tech industry and lives by the park. On weekends and summer days, he said, “friends and relatives can’t come over” because there is no place to park.