Sonoma High

Hike The New North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park

The Bay Area Ridge Trail will one day connect over 500 miles of trail along the hills and ridgelines to make one big Bay Area loop. So far, over 350 miles have been completed, and the North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park is one of the newest pieces to this impressive puzzle. The gorgeous park just north of Jack London State Park has some of the richest biodiversity in Sonoma County. Explore the terrain and enjoy the vistas on a 4-mile (round-trip) hike. Early on you'll pass a small redwood grove with two picnic tables set close to a burbling creek. Cross a wooden bridge and begin a gentle ascent up a trail clearly demarcated by large stones lining the pathway. Also lining the landscape right now: wildflowers! Get your Easter colors when you pass by newly blooming beauties like shooting stars, Douglas iris, and California poppies. As you start onto switchbacks there's a small pond with a few lucky ducks quacking about. You'll feel like a lucky duck too, walking under a canopy of live oaks, valley oaks, buckeys, madrones, and Douglas firs. Parts of this trail seem designed by an artist, as the arms of oak trees twist overhead and lush spring greenery runs from ground to tree. The main trail is the Ridge Trail, and it connects all the way to Jack London State Park. For the 4-mile (round-trip) hike, ascend to the Bennett Valley Overlook, which will be your turnaround point. Just don't turn around until you've taken in the views first! From 1,720 feet at the vista point, look west and north toward to the Santa Rosa Plain and the surrounding beautiful green galloping hills. You can also see distant Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Hood Mountain. Good as new!

BONUS: The next level after organic? Biodynamic! Check out one of wine country's pioneers down the road at Benziger Family Winery. Their biodynamic tram tour takes you around the property and teaches a bit about the process−tasting included!

North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park is southeast of Santa Rosa (map). Print out a park map to bring with you. There's a $7 parking fee. No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

    View
  3. Bucks Up!

    Come on in, the water is beautiful. Whether you like swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddling, or heading out on a bigger boat, Bucks Lake is a high mountain haven that’s easy to access, blissfully uncrowded, and surrounded by sandy beaches, picnic areas, pines, and aspens.

    View
  4. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

    View
  2. Two kayakers on Upper Klamath Basin on tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures

    Zen & the Art of Kayaking

    It’s the most meditative and relaxing experience you’ll ever have on a kayak. Yes, you read that right, a Zen experience on a kayak. It all happens in beautiful Klamath County when you head out on a guided tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures.

    View
  3. A Rose in the Pines

    A crackling fire, a bottle of wine, a bubbling Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall … now the big question: Marvin Gaye tunes or not? In the morning (ahem) it's breakfast in bed and a leis

    View
  4. Alex Villicana, Villicana Winery and Re:Find Distillery

    Locals' Feature: Alex Villicana

    Tech booms, AI revolutions, okay that’s all fine, but you wanna know what else is really cool? Being a pioneer in a world-famous industry that—in Paso Robles—remains solidly down to earth. When Alex Villicana established Villicana Winery in 1993, he clearly had grape expectations...

    View