Return from the Wildfires

Post Fire Hikes in Sonoma with the Ecology Center

02.01.2018

Last October one of the worst wildfires in California’s history ripped through Sonoma and Napa Valley, burning some of the area’s precious open space and state and regional parks. Yet along with the New Year comes new growth, new greenery, basically a renewed beauty all across wine country. See for yourself on one of the free Fire Recovery guided hikes led by the good folks at Sonoma Ecology Center. Check their calendar for upcoming dates and get registered (these popular hikes book up!).

Hiking at various locations in Sonoma Valley, enjoy the trails and mountain-to-lake scenery while discovering how the land behaves after fires. Turns out, it behaves pretty well! Redwoods display their usual resiliency, madrones with singed leaves are resprouting new ones, and burned land is already starting to see a resurgence of grasses coming up strong as wildflowers bloom anew thanks to carbon adding nutrients to the soil (currently you’re likely to see hounds tongue and milkmaids making their marks on trailside hills). Learn which dead and dying trees are not deemed hazardous and are still valuable habitat for birds and other animals. If “hope springs eternal,” then Sonoma County is poetry in motion.

NEXT FIRE RECOVER WALK DATE: The next Fire Recovery Walk is Saturday, February 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sonoma Valley Regional Park. There’s no cost to hike, though donations to the Sonoma Valley Ecological Fire Relief Fund are gratefully accepted. Get tickets (free) for a 2018 Fire Recovery Walk with the Sonoma Ecology Center.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. A man takes a break at a temple spot on a hike at Dragon Mountain in Milptas

    Dragon Quest

    The newly reopened, 4-mile out-and-back hike at Dragon Mountain in Milpitas mixes the physical with the spiritual for a serene hiking experience.

    View
  2. Keough's Hot Springs

    Soaking Up History

    When you slide into the soothing water of Keough’s Hot Springs, you’re bathing in a piece of Owens Valley history.

    View
  3. woman hiking Buck Gulch Falls Novato

    Buck Wild!

    Tucked back beyond the residential ranch-style homes and golf courses of Novato in the North Bay is a wild and wondrous 30-foot waterfall that springs to life in the rainy season. Buck Gulch Falls in Novato’s Ignacio Valley Preserve is in peak flow right now, and it’s a short and Middle-earthy hike to reach it.

    View
  4. Grover Hot Springs

    State Park Soaker

    Set in an alpine meadow at 6,000 feet and surrounded by the 10,000-foot granite peaks of the Sierra, Grover Hot Springs State Park—just outside the town of Markleeville—has its very own hot springs.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. A woman stands at Dante's View in Death Valley, looking out to Telescope Peak and Manly Lake, Badwater Basin below.

    Sunset Hike at Dante's View

    It’s one of the world’s best places to watch a sunset. Dante’s View is a 5,476-foot vantage of the whole southern basin of Death Valley from the top of the Black Mountains. Right now there's a banner and bonus view of a rare lake formation that appears only after big rains.

    View

  2. Hot, Wet, and Wild!

    At Wild Willy’s Hot Springs, you can soak up a primeval landscape that’s amazingly close to Mammoth Lakes and Highway 395—it just feels a few geological epochs away.

    View

  3. It's a Waterfall Life

    Tahquitz Canyon’s crystalline stream and lush stands of desert lavender, honey mesquite, and leafy sycamores is home to an easy day hike with a big bonus: a 60-foot waterfall that runs with remarkable gusto after winter rains.

    View

  4. Oh Snow Nice

    Live in California long enough, and you’ll come to know the rite of passage called “going to the snow”–when we ditch our fair-weather cities and towns in search of winter weather. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks deliver a winter wonderland worth a visit if there’s been a good dose of snow.

    View